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Many benevolent Eritreans have doggedly asked me to apologize for my past and after dodging this appeal, I relented by telling them, “write it down and I will sign it”. Now I made that elusive U-Turn yet again, I am back in the sovereign state of “un-apology” because as an economist, I am intimately cognizant that apology is taxing to the brain and the eyes, therefore I will not apologize even if someone writes it for me. I would be as imbecile as the opposition to fathom in de-stabilizing a sovereign and secure state just because it is adamantly “un-apologetic” for the sake of its survival. I will not dignify the appeal, however well-meaning it might be with my autograph. I say elusive because many people have problem completing the proverbial turn, even with the advice and leadership of a seasoned U-Turn veteran: yours truly.

I am a child of privilege because I was born to a mother and father, a luxury that many if not most Eritreans lack and this peculiarity made me the envy of all my Eritrean peers and friends, who jealously mocked and terrorized me for being who I am. To defy this I ingeniously cultivated and refined a novel hobby of spice collection to fill the void that my privilege created. I would roam endlessly the endless aisles of spice vendors in the Sudan every day. This was how and why and my principal motivator for becoming a self-made expert in spicing up things. Any human endeavor be it a hobby or a job has some occupational a hazard associated with it. Spice collection is no exception. My cross-eyed and dizziness that were made worse by the belaboring of senile opposition leaders have their debut in my hobby. The sight and smell senses are heavily used in the art of spice collection and that is why I am cross-eyed in my current vision, hindsight and foresight. This was the price I had to pay to enjoy solace in that murky, but spicy world from the bullying. Give me the most insalubrious dish, or any unsavory, scandalized, filthy idea and I will make the first delectable and the latter sanitary solely by using the magic of unique and obscure combination of spices and herbs. This is why when the snoring opposition piles up all the allegations against the PFDJ, I sparingly use my craft, enough to qualify me as justice seeker with a bent for romancing dictatorship, but when the PFDJ finds the most minuscule allegation against the compulsively snoring and serial failures, I utilize all the brand names and as many of the spices at my disposal, making the allegations by the PFD salaciously affordable and appetizing even to those without privilege. Do not take my word for it, just revisit what I did to the age old faint grumbles of the “Kebessa” domination and land grabber soliloquy.

People were traumatized, appalled and outraged exactly in that order when I branded my column “U-Turn”. If you are tormented by the lack of the blessing of being born from a mother and father then I have to unambiguously spell it out for you to comprehend it. The old adage of “n’lebam ammTelu” will most definitely not work on you. I made my first “U-Turn” when I came out of the wood-work and penned a series of treaties about land grabbers and Neo-Nazis. The moderators also made it worse and more confusing to the “unprivileged” Eritrean reader by locating the arrow on the wrong side, since my first “U-Turn” was illegal, the arrow must be red colored and on the right side. It was wrong to abandon both my government and my people. “teTaEse, zeyteAs aiyeweled”. The first one is the only entity that is preserving the country and assuaging the prevalent and seemingly intractable national problems. The latter are doing the right thing for submitting to the government that is trying to ameliorate their lives and keeping them safe from the Woyane and those who are fantasizing of hitchhiking on the tanks of their financiers. Because relinquishing the land grabber madness was legal, another “U-Turn” sign with its arrow on the left side should intersect the red illegal “U-Turn” sign. And because both the legal and the illegal “U-Turns” made me end up where I was in the first place, a square should enclose both “U-Turn” symbols. If I have confused you, think of it this way: The first one was the “U-Turn Flesh” and the second one was the “U-Turn Spirit”. Since the “Flesh” must die for the “Spirit” to both eternally live in the heart and go back to its rightful owners, the PFDJ, a straight arrow should point backward starting from the point where the two “U-Turns” meet. This will help the bewildered, the snoring and those using my per bono services to complete their “U-Turns”, the ultimate destiny for any good Eritrean worth his salt.

As if to make the old cliché of “there is always light at the end of the tunnel” true, after a long, solitary and anguished trek, I found a soul-mate in the person of Semere Tesfay. The irony is that he was created after me, by me and from me. Amazing! But wait, it gets better. He was created from me, he is “finchah mesengeley”, while I was awake and hyperactive in the land grabber lunacy. But we tied the knot while I was snoring in the front row of opposition meetings. “Zgeberelka ngerelu way giberelu”, I come hard on the opposition, but let it be known that if they did not induce that “Luwam zelewo” sleep our match made in hell matrimony would not have been blessed to become the envy and outrage of our enemies. Had I known sooner that Semere Tesfay was always that crisp, that wise and that smart I would have been on my knees with that ring of infidelity sooner, “tetsGibenni kichas ab megogo’a kola ayfeltKuwan” when it came to “semiruley tesfai”. Truth be told no opposition group ordered me to dub the “Kebessa” land grabbers and “Neo-Nazis”, but they still “tegagiyom agagiyomna”.

I have a Muslim name, but I am a devout disciple of the Babylonian myth of creation which in a nutshell says: humans were created to till the land on behalf of their gods and masters, after their death, they return to their gods. In this myth man was civilized only after meeting his soul-mate and as you can see I got “civilized” only after meeting my soul-mate. Compare my rhetoric in the land grabbers with my current debate. Now I am demanding more civility both from myself and every reader at every opportunity. Just like in the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, when man was a wanderer in the wilderness and feeding on milk from wild animals, I am like the character, Enkidu who got civilized after meeting his soul-mate, who taught him everything from farming, eating bread and drinking fine wine. “Habibna” Ismail Omer’s dramatic conjecture of my drive is wrong on two counts: namely in his contention that it was bewildering drive and on who I met in the ride.

My love affair with “semiruley tesfai” was postponed before and then was fulfilled and I hope that it does not get postponed again with unforetold U-Turns.

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I think it is better to focus on the debate as some people might get harmful to self & others or get lost in the “wirigrig” tunnel with no light at the end or move on to”blichblich” and chirah mirah of hagere fanTasia(the land of toys)[Per Saay but rewritten]. Here is a specific question that can help the debate. Which of the following methods is effective in promoting
a functioning democracy in Eritrea?
A) Full support to PFDJ
B) Exposing and criticizing PFDJ persistently
C) Renewal of the opposition that can convince and mobilize the public
D) B&C
E) none

Hope

To shock most people,I will go for D.But in a rational and through a Real Eritrean but Eritrean WAY though

Kokhob Selam

AH, Hope, can you please give brief information in your stand?

Hope

I stand frim on my long and old STAND for answer “D”.But in a rational and through a Real Eritrean but Eritrean WAY though.
Simple as that,big Bro/Sis, Kokhob —I could have said it better inTigrayit(Tigre,not Tigray) and Bilin-but most people may/will not understand me.

Kokhob Selam

some thing abstract here. aren’t we Eritreans doing the same?

Amanuel

D) B&C

Kokhob Selam

HMMM, E, (none) totally out of choice. A, is committing crime, B is just done already but some job more needed. C is important for me. so 90% C and 10 % D. shall I say B and C? yes,D.

haile

Hey Saba,

In a spirit of friendliness, let me say B (I could have said E if I really wanted to sulk:) Before explaining myself however, let me also share one of the biggest secret of our time that ALL statisticians have hidden from us all:

The average human being was much more smarter 2000 years ago than at this time in the history of mankind.

Reason: In those days, you could only LIVE if you know how to avoid getting killed and provide enough for yourself and your offisprings. Slight mistake, you’ll be dead!

The current problem with Eritreans is that they have a regime that poses threat to their SURVIVAL, hence their sole duty is combat that source. Many Eritreans (especially the intellectuals) are hell terrified to do a single thing (for God sake, they saw impotently as their women and children were made to drown in the middle of the sea, 22 of the meekly came out, their knees and hands shaking with fear and scribbled a signiture in a stupid and childish letter and nearly avoided massive heart attack:) Once the regime of IA is toppled by the ordinary folks, those guys will come out roaring like a lion and lioness (anbesa’n wa’eron) and will show you all kinds of magical wonders in all fields be it politics, economics, social development. They will laugh at your question (in fact anyone who asks a question) they will know it all and do it all (lu’ul zmeslu deqi hizbi). Alewuna alewana (tihti a’rat tehabiOm), kwetsu eyom Aqli Tray 🙂

So I find your C, ab’zey menTebitkn, ayte’Etwa edkn. To renew anything, at the minimum you need membership and to pontificate about the future is stab in the dark (you still haven’t met all the brains of Eritrea snoring ab tihti A’arat) so give it time. The right and moral thing to do now is B. neti kal’E wanatat alewuwo… 🙂

AMAN

Eritrea was only just punished for the reason that
It should not lead Africa or African countries in that
path…………because it is a threat of a good example
to others which are wanted to be servants of whites
expired and outdated policies.
And definitely the US and the WEST they do not want
that or see it happening before they finished their net
for the post cold war or third millenia world order.
So it is to pay the woyanes to do dirty job against free
people and just country.

Pappillon

Aman,

I see that the guru of ህዝባዊ መኸተ Gideon Abbay is still breathing on your neck making you say stupid things. How is it possible for Isaias’ Eritrea to set a good example for other African countries? Please tell me. People are leaving Eritrea in droves; there is no rule of law; It is a common scene in the city for people to line up for long hours to get gasoline where in the mean time the rationed bread dries up for there is no tea to have it with. I could go on but in my part of the world, it is getting late. ልቢ ግበር ኣይትዓሹ.

Kokhob Selam

Kokhob
Selam • a year ago

………..ሕንቅል ሕንቅሊተይ….

ዓው ኢሉ ዝዛረብ ሓያል ወዲ ሳይበር:-

ሊሎ ዝነበረ ርግቢት ዝቕየር:-

ሳምሶን ን’ይዚ ዘመን ንኽሉ ዝዳፈር:-

ልቢ ፈናጢሑ ክሰርሓ ዝመጣጠር:-

ምዘኑ ‘ሞ ፍለጡ ዝተሓብአ ነገር::

Nobody was able to answer it one year back in JEBANA/MERHABA page. read the first letters down to find the answer

May be you should print my harshly criticising comments on Ali S.’s position vis-a-vis the opposition debaters and activists (that has been withheld by the moderator) to enable him take a good look at himself. Saba and Ali S. Seem
to be the invisible but ‘effectively derailing’ warriors of DIA, his brightest conscious or unconscious instruments of doom. Thanks to their brilliance, their debating skill attracts the highest attention of high calibre debaters like Haile the Great, SAAY, Pappillon, Horizon and even SJG yourself. They very ably create the 3rd , 4th orhundredth Way and keep debaters impaled at hypothetical points where they want them and important facts like the haemorrhaging of Eritrea’s youth from, it seems, deliberately left open borders (at the present moment), is ignored. There is a shocking reality to debate about regarding the “Large Numbers of Trafficked Eritreans Expected in Europe” that Gedab news rightly points out.

My source in Rome told me that she went to the Stazione Termine and seeing how too young some of the new arrived kids were (who apparently seemed happy and relieved to have made it thus far), and she said she wailed and wept inconsolably unable to fathom how mothers and families were selling their little precious to send their little ones out of the country to God knows where.

From what I can gather, the Sabas and Ali Ss have no or little message to give. For them, it sometimes seems like it is just
a game of who is more skilled or they have a purpose of serving another hidden agenda. After all U turns are U turns; not wanting to go forward!!

Ermias

Yodita, I am highly suspicious of Saba’s intentions here just as you seem to be as well. I have now labeled here CPA (Closet PFDJ Agent) but I think she has more sinister intentons. If you have not been briefed yet, I am the resident character investigator here and Saba is very shifty even for my immense skills. I have gotten nothing yet on her. There is one thing that people do that gives me the biggest clue but I think being super bright, she has not fallen into that trap yet so my theories thus far are inconclusive.

Just FYI, my firm doesn’t investigate anyone who opposes the IA regime on the open.

Sadly, Eritrean youth are the biggest victims of this regime and neither Saba nor Ali-S is going to shed any tears for them any time soon.

Yodita

Ermias,

Please correct me if I am wrong, but we Ertreans have a weakness for extremely bright persons. It is like we celebrate (and even worship) excellence or brilliance. I believe that is how Isaias won so many in the early days. They say his sharpness oozed all over and people had respect for that. Saba has had a red carpet treatment here at Awate.com for her unique capacity to present her ‘views’. She had respect
from those who really matter. Haile and SAAY gave her a lot of attention. But in the nitty gritty, she was just derailing and causing negative energy. Just my two cents to the mighty resident character
investigator!

saay7

Selamat Yodita:

You need to re-read Saba. She is lightening fast, witty and extremely intelligent. Her emergence right around the time that Ali Salim appeared is, I am sure, keeping Private Detective Ermias very busy:)

You don’t have to do much research here: I compared the Third Way to Piaget’s discovery that children under 2 don’t know “object permanence” (that out of sight does not mean out of existence) and this is why they don’t know about previous edition of Third Way and she, in lightening speed, came back with opposition “weakness permanence” (that avoiding talking about the weakness of the opposition does mean it can be wished out of existence.) Serrayesque* in its brilliance.

Females in Eritrean forums are a rarity but I must say that ours at awate, few they may be, but they are all intelligent. Hayat, Papillon, Yodita and now Saba. Hail the x-chromosome!

saay

* a Serray/Saba debate would be epic.

Yodita

Kbur SAAY,

You are one of my ‘bulwarks’ and when you get ‘mesmerized’ by the Sabas, I get
nervous. Can’t help it!

saay7

Selamat Yodita:

Worry not, ቕሰኒ! One of of our objectives with this forum is to foster a culture of debate. I engage people who can express a viewpoint and defend it–it doesn’t matter whether they are advancing the Third Way (Saba), the Second Way (Emma), the First Way (Nitricc), the Ahnd Ethiopia Way (Eyob), the Harbeyna Weyanay Way (T.Kifle) or the YG way (Hayat). Between you and me, I consider the arguments of the YGists much more offensive than the Second Way whose ነብሰ-ናእዳ is hilarious.

At awate.com, the problem is not the debate; it is just that First Way and Second Way run out of ammunition (ባልደንጎኦም ይውድኡ) and instigate a fight so they can be banned and nurse their martyr complex:) Or they just lose interest (stamina is not their thing) and move on to whatever shiny object attracts their attention.

saay

Kokhob Selam

Saleh Nagram, seb adkimka. (ባልደንጎኦም ይውድኡ) kkk

SM

Sarcasm or honesty?

SM

Bingo!
Yes,being an Eritrean FEMALE….is enough w/o going into details…
Very brilliant sarcasm encrypted with TRUTH/Honesty….
That is why I would NOT debate U but learn from you,big Bro..!

Pappillon

Hey Sal,

That coming from you means a lot. I am honoured to find myself on the same pedestal with these two extraordinary women–Yodita and Hayat. I have been meaning to ask you this: Do you know who this Tegadalit in the clip is? Please forward to 1:24. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-nyoUkzxHM

Haft’kha.

Hope

I think most of us may know her well.But i want a confirmation from the Seniors.

Pappillon

Imagine this is in the 70s and as a woman I am so proud of her for her dedication not to mention her eloquence. I am curious to know whom she might be. Sal ዝኸተተኒ እዩ ዝመስል ዘሎ. Hope Haile or Saleh Johar will tell us something about her.

Hope

I thought you know her and that you were “testing” us.I will wait for my Seniors to respond.Whenever we watch this clip—we argue but it is obvious who she is.

Pappillon

No I am not sure who she is. Hope she is alive and well.

Hope

That is why someone loved her to death–because of what you said–at least.Sal and Haile–might not want to tell you though..

Ermias

Yodita, when Saba first showed up here, one of her earliest pieces was a complicated algorithm that calculated the rate at which Gedab news reported news items accurately. If my memory serves me right, she put it in the 50% range. SAAY was debating with her and he was actually rather merciless to her. She got banned several times (I read it from her) for violating the terms at AT. I was rather infatuated with her and with the weak heart that I have, I pleaded with AT that either to let me know when they ban her or to pre-emptively ban me with her so I would know where my newly found love was. Anywhoooo, again, SAAY in particular did not give her any red carpet treatment in here. She is a very persistent character, zeytidahal seb eya zigermeki. Wela ane keman ab mejemerta ‘anti shillu’ eleya, kab AT metenkekta tewahibuni neru. After that me and Sabi had what you call tough love for each other. She thought I was salvageable to the SALSAY MESRIE (or salay menghedi) or Third Way but when I learned that the center of change is PFDJ in this third way, I stopped listening to her. Sorry, late afternoon, too much gibberish for me. The point is Saba is here because of her incredibly strong character. She is wrong more often than not but I give her props for her persistence.

Yodita

Kbur Haw Ermias,

Muchas gracias for the feed back. Saba’s ‘supremacy’ is not lost to me. It is crystal clear for anyone to see. I find it all the more ‘enraging’ when I discover that these very talented and bright persons may be endorsing the hoodlum and his zombie gangs at home!! Hard as I try to be respectful of diametrically opposed views, IA’s and PFDJ’s supporters sort of ‘enrage’ me. I have no empathy whatsoever and I fail big time in my efforts to practice being a true democrat.

I think Saba is a bewitcher! She has you infatuated and SAAY and Haile (il grande) seem mesmerized. We gotta watch it!!

Hope

Bingo,Ermi,
That is “Eritreanism” at its BEST,the LIVING SYMBOL and the SISTER of those HEROINS and Heros-who survived the Selahta Werar and the Shadushay Werar”–against ll ODDS.
“She is a very persistent character, zeytidahal seb eya zigermeki. ”
” She is a very persistent character, zeytidahal seb eya zigermeki.”
“The point is Saba is here because of her incredibly strong character.”
Courtesy of Ermias.
Correction:
You got it WRONG that the PFDJ is NOT the center of the THIRD WAY.

Hope

I beg to differ with you,Yodita Shikorina-kem shima,(that is my nephew’s name btw).
One of the Generals from Asmera clarified your dilemma when he was asked by Teweld Welde-Ghebriel of the VOA as to why our Heros like Gen Vanyak et al did not tell their heroism until their death.We call it “Eritrean Humility”/Humbleness”—as we believe, rather, that whatever we do for Eritrea and her people is our obligation.
“Worshiping DIA” has its own history…Read SAAY’s note/Dx about DIA’s personality and that of Amb Mcullen of the USA to Eritrea(Wikileaks)

hope

Mr Investigator and Psychic,
You have crossed the Red Line by labeling people this and that.
Just debate constructively,man.Cahracter assaisnation and name callings are the worst signs of lack of self-confidence.
She is entilted even to worship the Devil,eventhough her stand and position are CRYSTAL CLEAR..
What if she calls a certified under -cover “Weyane Agent” at your Entoto Headquarters..

hope

Mr Investigator and Psychic,
You have crossed the Red Line by labeling people this and that.
Just debate constructively,man.Character assaisnation and name callings are the worst signs of lack of self-confidence.
She is entilted even to worship the Devil,eventhough her stand and position are CRYSTAL CLEAR..
What if she calls you a certified under-cover “Weyane Agent” at your Entoto Headquarters.?.

Pappillon

Dearest Yodita,

Isaias has the gods up in heaven and foot shoulders here on earth and in between mother-less children are crashed under the unbearable weight of intellectual expediency. The grim and horrifying reality is that, we don’t have to look for any leaked video camera anymore, the down trodden, the hopeless and the lost children are drifting to the shore to tell us stories where some of us (read: Ali Salim and Saba) turn their backs on them lest the bogyman takes advantage of the predicament the nation finds itself in. Ultimately however, it will be a morale issue, time will bring all of us in to the reckoning moment and lo and behold, we will not have anybody to defend for the children either will be lost in a dynamic world or will be devoured by a tyrant till the mothers can not bear children no more.

Haft’khi.

Yodita

Kbrti Pappillon Haftey,

“Isaias has the gods up in heaven and foot shoulders here on earth…” you so rightly say. I will add to it that he also has potentially unlimitted (and unaccounted for) resources of potash, copper, gold
and ‘slaves’ to exploit and use to entrench himself on his throne as a modern day pharaoh whose heart turns to stone as concerns the plight of the people of the country he dominates and abuses.

The good news is there are people like you who see reality squarely in the face and are tirelessly doing their best to challenge those who knowingly or otherwise are in the service of the tyrant. History clearly indicates
who is on the winning side. The indicator is upwards as goodness and compassion overshadow and subsequently delete evil. If it were not so, man would have remained as he was primordially, more animal than human.

Only a couple of thousand years ago, the Roman people use to occupy the coliseum as early as 4 or 5 a.m. in the morning in order to get seats that would allow them to watch, from a close range, early Christian families (including children) being torn apart by wild animals. Today, not only physical violence but even
racist comments and behaviours are getting less and less tolerated in the football arenas that have replaced the coliseum and are attended by several thousands.

DIA, PFDJ, Ali Salim and his U turn, Saba, Dine, dawit, Hope, Nictricc and what have you are in the past and dead while the opposition (with all its obstacles) are today and the future. The unerring indicator of the cosmic evolution of human voyage on this planet says so through its history. What individuals can do is either derail or delay the progress or hasten and accelerate it. In the Awate forum there are three kinds, those who derail and delay; those who hasten and accelerate and those who simply observe and wait.

Pappillon, for me you, among some others, shine with your outstanding energy to push for the acceleration of progress and emancipation. Haftcki natki

Semere Andom

Hi Yodita:
What an eloquent comment. And if you have omitted the “natki” from your tag-line, this comment would have been the highlight of my day:-). If you do not know what I am talking about better be friends with Haile and Sal so they can explain to you
Where is our friend Nitricc by the way
But most importantly where is where is Serray and where is Hayat Adem

A reply I sent to you has been posted and instantly removed for reasons I cannot understand.

Ali-S

Yodita,
We are actually a little fanatic on this particular issue.
Our motivation for criticizing the opposition is not because they are doing too much but because they are doing nothing other than shedding crocodile tears. If you are really to help the victims, take their stories from our dirty politics and stop abusing them for political ends.
Most of those who survive these horrors actually end up supporting the PFDJ not the Weyane side of the opposition for your information. These victims are not interested in your games. If you really want to help them do it because they need your help not because you can use their pictures and statistics to push cheap politics.
It takes honesty and some integrity to fight for human rights and I don’t see any of the opposition gangs having an ounce of it. So stop it my dear sis and take the closest U-Turn.

Hope

On the same token,how can we rule out that you,also,might have a hidden agenda?

Hope

dawit,
If this people nakedly petiitoned, rallied behind and endorsed the crippling economic and military sanctions,besides endorsing the weyane engineered policiies against Eritrea and Eritreans,do you expect any thing good from them?
No confusion here,,—but just based on facts.

hope

Swallow the BITTER TRUTH but the TRUTH.Let histiry be the judge.
No further comments and questions needed.

hope

Keep barking like a mad dog,to use your own words.Girma Asmerom has spent his entire life for Eritrea during the worst and the best times, and he will be doing so until the last minute with or without IA.
And you are? I wish I know you as much as I know Amb Girmay Asmerom.
Just re-vist your favorite,at times,SAAY and his notes about those EPLF and “PFDJ”
members—that he is talking about.
Serving Eritrea under PFDJ should not be considered as ” Isaiasim”.
The way I have read you so far,the only thing you know/say/do is ,”cursing,judging,belittling—defamatiing(defaming),insulting people,etc,.., back and forth,whcih are/is well documented.

Ermias

House of Stark. Good call. Chelsea is my team but if I had to pick a second team it would be Atleti. Remember simao sabrosa? He was great for Atleti and Portugal too. I have liked them since then 2005/2006. They are due now for full maturation. I am just happy barca and Munich are out.

Jo

Please don’t discount my Barća!!! yet. We may be out of the champions, but we are still in contention in the league. Next year, I think, Barća will persist.

Saleh Johar

Isn’t this easy? PFDJ acts live a slave owner, the opposition demand justice and citizen rights.

AMAN

Is that all about it ?
So the opposition is asking for civil rights only.
It is not an opposition party then it is only a
civil rights or human rights watch type.

T. Kifle

Dear haile,

I somehow agree on the implication of separating the two entities for some say that the nation has to establish itself mainly around that part of history. From practical point of view, I don’t think that part of history though determinant for its creation would be so essential for its continuous survival. I happened to be from the “school of thought” that view the said part of its history would be an impediment to its progress but I could be wrong and I wish I would though nothing of sort shows otherwise so far.

Moreover, You and I have no much difference on our views concerning the future of our two countries though we seem to nurse minor issues here and there regarding the past.

AMANEL

Awate admin.
Can you please once more state the stands and principles of the PFDJ and the opposition regarding Eritrea and the people to us the readers of Awate. There seems to be some overlapp or confusion or deliberate mix up not easy to sort them out.
AmanEL
On behalf of readers.

OnLooker

I , as a reader, did not ask you to represent me. You should have ommited your last statment : “On behalf of the readers”. I , ( I don’t speak for other readers), am not as confused as you are 😉 Perhaps, other readers as well may not be as confused as you are.

AMAN

I didn’t say or represent Onlookers either.
I said readers.
You are just an Onlooker not the readers I
represented.
Have a nice day !

saay7

Selamat awatistas:

I would like to congratulate Saba for being elected to the position of Spokesperson of The Third Way. You will recall that she was nominated by Ali Salim and she gave one condition for her acceptance: that she receive the vote of 50% of the membership of The Third Way. Since The Third Way has two members (Ali Salim and Saba, with two additional TeAzebti with no voting rights), she has met the threshold and, if she votes for herself, she can get 100% of the vote of The Third Way. Semere Andom, please, in the spirit of solidarity, write Saba her acceptance speech.

Maybe that will inspire The Third Way to tell us what exactly it is they believe in and, since their criticism of the opposition is that they are not solution-oriented but grievance-oriented, I am sure they will be forthcoming with their solution and will execute. Some might say that the U-Turn that The Third Way brags about is more like reckless driving, and that its ideology is closely approaching that of nihilism. Some might be confused about how a couple of days ago, Saba asked what would happen to her if she walked in Godena Harnet wearing a T-shirt that says “Election Now!” and just a day later, she was saying the reason there is no election in Eritrea is because there is no opposition. But these are unfair criticisms and disregard the entertainment value that is derived from the contrast of the inane announcements and the smug righteousness.

Some of you will say that the fact that Third Way is now a body with an elected spokesperson instantly makes it a “cyber organization.” Some of you are looking forward to The Third Way’s website (which we will promptly provide a link for in the front page), a logo (including the mandatory olive branches) and future communiques about nothing and, of course, the inevitable split based on “irreconcilable differences.” But you are all skeptical people. The Third Way, like its American sister organization the No Label party, is all about solution: you should expect its metrics-driven reports on how many people it has converted to its way of thinking.

Onward and forward!

saay

haile

Hey saay,

While we await for Sem to issue the standard acceptance speech, I wish to offer Saba (and the third way family of two) the following logo that depictes their inviting balancing act 🙂

I am humbled to be the first female and person to be nominated and elected by acclamation of the cheering and voice of one as the spokesperson for this nascent but august movement. What is more gratifying and inspiring is the fact the tegadali who created the movement to be so humble to nominate me passing over himself. Implicit in this gesture is the unwritten constitution/plan of this movement that is destined to be the only way. The Third Way is the only way that will help us ascend to the 1+1=1 elegant equation that we all aspire to. But my nomination by the very founder of this movement is testament to my experience in the exotic spices of shinfaE, kerbe, liHtit and others that was bequeezed to me when I visited the wisest man that ever walked this earth and who also happens to be a kin of the current president of the state of Eritrea. I believe that I will make a tremendous contributions at my capacity as a spokesperson as I am uniquely positioned to do so as I am aptly named Sheba the name of a woman, whose husband murdered two Abrahams and supplanted them with one heir for the throne. This ladies and gentlemen is the ultimate unifying theme where the elegant equation 1+1=1 was derived from. Also the wisdom I gleaned from the Song of Songs before it was published gives me an advantage for maneuvering dissidents in the Third way
The Third Way is the only way. Let us is declare it. ncherHayo!

Before I close my remarks let me congratulate our founding father Ali Salim and welcome him from the wandering wilderness, where many mocked him for his U-Turns, but the U-Turns were not in vain, they were engineered to find his rendezvous, where Semere Tesfay was waiting patiently.
Let us sig; assey assey hasab libey semiruley,
tesfa libery semiruley,
n’salisai megedi zkefetely
hade belku nebsey demire
kab klet khalif woy ke
because it binary (Sal hawey eske torgumely) 😉
Saba

======================
By Semere Andom

saay7

Sem:

Nearly perfect. Only thing missing is the music for The Third Way:

1. A traditional song (it doesn’t matter which one) what matters is at some point we say: “selso ye, selso!”

2. There is another folk song (way before your time) I don’t know precisely how it goes but it had these lyrics: “alewani selste ansti…eta Hanti teblE testi…salseyten tweld keyaHti…”

saay

Saleh Johar

Saay, why are you forgetting Gaddaffi’s Third Way four decades ago when he branded his Green Book the compass to the third way: neither socialist nor capitalist.

Ane teKaumo aleni!!! I had some reservations about joining the third way because, in the initial statement there were some things omitted. I thought to give them a reasonable doubt and wait until the acceptance speech is written, hoping that it will be rectified. Now, I am disappointed that the speech didn’t mention the concerns I had in mind (no body new about them) and I am staying on the side lines until a proper revision is done on both. Thus, Saba has to wait to make her acceptance speech.

Saba failed to mention it initially and Semere omitted it, I think, intentionally.

a) Why didn’t Saba mentioned Tchenna-adam and riHan? Since they are part of our tradition and members of the exotic spice family they should be included.

b) Specialy Tchenna-adam, having in mind how much crucial rare and crucial it is in the spice family, should be mentioned first on the list and be capitalized.

We should not go ahead with it pending REVISION of the statement Saba made and the acceptance speech to include both Tchenna-adam & riHan, I am neither going to join the group or support it. At the expense of being considered the Third Way – OTTO. Hmmmmm!!! I like it – OTTO!!!.

Saba

Semiruley,
The introduction was fun and thanks for reminding me “lihtit” but then you have turned it into something heavy and malicious. And as Hope have said, you have not included Rihan. Before we sing the song seliso ye seliso dea ta, i want you to revise the speech and it should be approved by members:) Thanks.
Saba

saay7

Epic Haile the Gr8:

It just needs a meme: “What pretty teeth you have!”

saay

Saba

Yeah he should have said that or “Asnanka kitisibik, ter zibele situm kem sini adghi”

Saba

Haile the Great,
Thank you for your support. The image is a typical symptom of pfdj syndrome. Be ware of other merzamat fitretat:)

Pappillon

The caption should read: “Dude you need Listerine.”

Saba

Selam Saay,
Wow this time the speed of the cyber opposition’s character assassination machinery is faster than that of their attempt in dismantling Medrek, almost closer to the speed of light.
Can’t you have some patience? I am not nominated yet, i might not vote my self.
I guess logic does not have a place ab enda siber opposition. Let me explain it to you again. PFDJ dictatorial system will not allow me to wear that shirt and walk in Godena Harnet, why? Because they are dictators and they do not want to allow my free expression and they do not want to hold elections. There is no any credible alternative party that can pressure them politically. Is it clear now? Ok i will explain it again step by step:
Election in Eritrea can occur if
1. the PFDJ transform themselves into a democratic party and allow a democratic system–> But so far PFDJ is a dictatorial party hence no election
2. PFDJ can be forced to allow elections politically or nonpolitically–> So far there is no a credible opposition party that can force them politically. The public has rejected the cyber opposition. Even tplf is not in love with cyber opposition, they want to rehabilitate them. I want to rehabilitate them too. You see there is a competition between me and tplf, on who will rehabilitate the cyber opposition. We have different methods, TPLF use gurush and stick, while i use truth and no stick.

Here is a satrical conversation between Saba and cyber opposition(CO):
Saba: SimUta end aba siber opposishionat, here are stories of PFDJ gifitat i have seen and heard, i want to share with you and find out a way to solve problems in our country.
CO: Great, welcome Saba, we would love to have your testimonies. Do you have some videos?
Saba: Thank you. So how is your typical day as a cyber opposition?
CO: Our day starts with phone calls to TPLFites, you see money is importantE. Then we advertise some sanctions, pfdj crimes, and results of pfdj sanctions. Nii, come here, imo zihabtey, izi dima ni shahiki iyu. Dehar enda pfdj kindiwish ni keyid, it is really fun, hawiki dankeratat yifetu iye and the fun part is that PFDJites don’t know how to handle us. Gizie koynu imber some of them were our best friends but mis beal genzeb tetsebatseb iyu. Dehar dima we asked them to share power, this was BI iwanu mis libom in kelewu.
Saba: That is it? How about seminars with the public?
CO: Ri iki zahabtey, Hizbina tsemam iyu, hanti derfu i.e. PFDJ. Dehar dima public ayedilin iyu, TPLF dew tibelelna tirah. PFDJ beyna kem kirdad iya terifa zela.
CO to CO: Wedi kuteba, meas ika ni hadish abeba tigeyish?
Saba: Why are you asking wedi kuteba to go to Addis?
CO: Habtina, bizuh ayti teQuatUki, just do what we tell you.
Saba: Well i have the right to know and ask. Do you elect your members? Do you discuss about your plans? SOLUTIONS?
CO: Habtina, nay werazo sirah sirhi. We do not need all this hasHewuye, sala TPLF.
Saba: I heard that TPLF is trying to control you as a puppet, is that true?
CO: No, inkan haban is normaLE. And why do not you go and ask isayas all these questions?
Saba: I thought you guys are different.
CO: Kulatna hade ina, ilamana hade, Nay famiglia beAsi iyu. Higi sik ilki atakii, dimuk clapping and enjoy the free money.
Saba: If that is what you are then i am U-turning to the third way
CO: What? intay tiwuyway mengedi iyu ke? Misana shenah zey tibli with this free money and also we will elect you to be a minister. Besides we will crush that 3rd way. Anyone who is outside the cyber opposition we consider them as PFDJ by default.
Saba; That means most of Eritreans. If you do a poll right now, between PFDJ and CO, the winner will be PFDJ with landslide. Do not you think the referendum is on CO, not on PFDJ? i think they have already gave up on PFDJ and they are looking for a credible alternative, which does NOT exist now.
CO: Aye deki lomi, ayti izezun ikum, weladikum aytekbirun, democraci wedi democraci endabelkum, rugumat kibri zeybilom. Kidu U-turn giberu mist reckless drivikum.

Pappillon

I am sure if ሃለዉለዉ was a Marathon event, you would beat Meb. No kidding.

saay7

Selamat Saba:

Do go on with your Third self! It is very entertaining. One thing I love about the Third Way is that, in their typical immodesty, they think they came up with something original. Anti Saba: khndey meAt Third Way zery’re’ena!. I believe Saleh Gadi Johar named them OTTO (opposition to the opposition) in 2008. So, you are only 6 years behind:)

The None of the above, (NOTA) or OTTO, or Third Way looks at Eritrea where the ruling regime is committing a crime of commission (enslaving youth, disappearing citizens, extra-judicial killings, lawlessness, etc) and the opposition is committing a crime of omission (not doing enough to challenge the PFDJ) and considers the latter more worthy of commentary than the former. One of the original members of OTTO, the unique Semere Tesfai, wrote a massive piece at awate.com telling us that name-calling of the PFDJ is not productive then he spent the rest of the article name-calling the opposition.

The other thing I love about the Third Way (and OTTO) is their lack of humility. You have been writing funny dialogues that have one thing in common: you, Saba, are the heroic reasonable figure and the Cyber Opposition is this unreasonable caricature. You have figured it all out and you are going to practice medicine. Wow, how unique it is in Eritrean politics where we demonize and caricature each other. What a breath of fresh air. More please!

Finally, you mentioned medrek. I happen to think that along with Wedi Ali, Medrek and Wedi Vacarro were two of our great breakthroughs of 2013, but neither one is perfect. While I support Medrek, I consider the criticism against it very valid. The criticism has three parts:

1. Where were you when we needed you?
2. We don’t support what you are trying to achieve, i.e., PFDJ 2.0. I think this would be Emma’s criticism.
3. We don’t think you have the stamina to continue: you are giving people false hope; it is a “winter project” for you. This is Saleh Gadi Johar’s criticism of Medrek.

Every single one of the criticisms above applied to OTTO, and it is valid to apply it to The Third Way. While I am willing to give Medrek the benefit of doubt because it has consequential and substantive people, I consider the Third Way just another short-lived project that will deafen us for a while and then, restless as it is, get bored and disappear just as suddenly as it appeared.

But, meanwhile, please more!

saay

ghezaehagos

Selam Sal,
Of late, it has become a fashion for some to call Isais dictator and then devote the rest of the energy on opposition, how bad, dangerous/ wicked/ weak/useless/ purposeless the opposition is. While all the more, there is haughtiness one can’t miss that they will be deliverers…’eske..eske…gedefo emo…nabay..’
And when asked what they would do ‘m’s gedefnalom’, we have yet to wait for any coherent solution.
Ghezae Hagos

hope

Come on Attorney Wedi Hagos,
Let’s use that brain for a real and a better “Third Way” and as Ali Salim said it in an unequivocally crystal clear way,let’s be serious and be fair to each other and move forward.
Let’s put aside that EGO—-but SAAY, I was serious about my inquiry.
Thank you Ali Salim.

Hope

SAAY,
Are you making another U-turn?I thought you are/were the Primary Author of the” Third Way”,in its true context?
Per my honest understanding,the ” hird Way” is a mid-way solution—where we converge into an Intersection ” from the parallel way run,where we could not achieve any thing.
If I have to be clear,the “Third Way” for me is—Neither the PFDJ nor the Opposiyon Way but in between–either by reconciliation or by the way you proposed–PFDJ w/o its head…
So what is your understanding of a “Third Way” then?Or what is your solution then?
Please advise.
Unless we are just joking and debating for the sake of debating,AKA,Cyber Politics”

Hope

Edited:
SAAY,
Are you making another U-turn?I thought you are/were the Primary Author of the” Third Way”,in its true context?
Per my honest understanding,the “Third Way” is a mid-way solution—where we converge into an Intersection ” from the parallel way run,where we could not achieve any thing.
If I have to be clear,the “Third Way” for me is,Neither the PFDJ ,nor the Opposition Way but in between–either by reconciliation or by the way you proposed–PFDJ w/o its head…
So what is your understanding of a “Third Way” then?Or what is your solution then?
Please advise.
Unless we are just joking and debating for the sake of debating,AKA,Cyber Politics”

Saba

Selam Saay,

Criticizing PFDJ to reform is like May MiHqUan. You should criticize PFDJ to weaken it. On the other hand the cyber opposition can be salvaged, with tough rehab. So we can do both at the same time: criticize PFDJ to weaken it while criticize cyber opposition to be rehabilitated.

It is expected the venomous reaction of the cyber opposition since change is not easy, to unlearn is hard. For example we have seen harish criticism of Medrek. The cyber opposition talks only about PFDJ, “OTTO”, but nothing about themselves. Well may be they have said something in Awassa but aytewereyen, if not you would have heard this song:” Ab Awassa zigeberkumo aywiren do ilkumo”

It would be better if the cyber opposition shows the pro and contro’s of Medrek.

The satire between Saba and CO continues, current events like Meb and others are included:)

Saba: what were you thinking When you hear about Wedi Ali?
CO: Bi deway halime. TeraIyuni ikua. The message was “DIA is either inside prison or outside the country or under the earth but the most probable theory was that ni semy ariguU”

Saba: eh(then)
CO: Then the cyber opposition tirkim belet, the order was wait and see. As expected PFDJ was reformed on itself, they have allowed a democratic system to flourish. In the meantime TPLF gedifatina, dekina. So letay teleali konet, we wanted to participate in the democratic process and we entered in the country as celebrity. Intay imo hilmi derho koynu, afey may meliuU.
Saba: I think your dream can be interpreted better by Zaphnath pinea?
CO: No no no, Tirir zibele iyu natu, wey Ghib or kib iyu zebleka. I like 50-50, life is compromise.
Saba: So you are expecting somebody to remove DIA and reform PFDJ? And what are you going to do in the mean time?
CO: Bingo. In the mean time we will prevent the birth of all these winter projects unless they get baptized and blessed by us.
Saba: Why?
CO: Sabita, it is called Bizness and politics

Saba: in my short stay with you, I heard some of you criticizing the cyber opposition for their weakness and emptiness but when I join their conversation, they have denied it and turned against me. I can not understand such behavior, they seem intelligent and reasonable.
CO: It is survival of the fittest, Dawitino kem zibello. Dehar KEa nay wishtika ni deghe aywitsaAAN iyu, specially to new people, key sinbiduu.
Saba: Which Dawit? You mean Darwin?
CO: Yeah, but Dawitino rings better in my ears. Darwin is like zeyte kaneye shim. I like Kirar-wata mikinay and I am hoping to meet Wedi Tikuabo. Izi Meb zibiluwo meliquana keydu kem taf.
Saba: Wedi Tiquabo, like many Eritreans, is anti-PFDJ but he is not a member of the cyber opposition
CO: That is enough, we got what we want. We do not want to hear what you love, we just want to hear that you hate PFDJ.
Saba: In all your conversation, you talk about business, political games, power but I do not hear you talking about democracy? Is not why you are here in the first place?
CO: Aye deki lomi, text wedi text lemidkum, you can not read full articles. We wrote about democracy in the cyber space, much better than what PFDJ preaches, mis ayenay kuhlu and blich lich zimeleO. Sometimes PFDJ tries to copy from us but we expose them immediately line by line. Cyber is the only strength we have and that’s where we got our name and we are cursed for that: ‘cyber opposition, ab cyber tewelidka, ab cyber tinebir”. Truth to be told, we try to hold seminars but it does not work mis izi tsemam hizbina hade derfu, HiGDef tiray.
Saba: Well Wedi Vaccarro has shown us the appetite of the people for change
CO: Yeah, but it was short lived, like your tiwuyway 3rd way that will be short lived, we will crush it, We crush all these OTTO’S biznessna key AatsWULna. So far cyber opposition is the only one consulted by big donors as an opposition group, so we need to keep our supremacy, as dawitino has said it, survival of the fittest, shet abilnaya alena.

Saba: Kabzi zelekumo fantasy intay yedhinekum?
CO: Tenqualay has ordered for us: Shinfae, Lihtit, chena adam, Tush twice daily, Rihan, Klite shewate, and anything administered with the prayer of fewsey fewsi asha. But so far
nothing has worked.
Saba: Miskinot, do you want to try REHAB? It is effective, specially if you have PFDJ syndrome, it is a political PTSD. You might not like it at the beginning since PTSD is a new thing. But I would say people who had Wube syndrome would have appreciated the treatment. So as Semiruley Andom has said it you can be “Kubur nai lomi cyber opposition and nay Xibah Salsai Mengedi Abalat”
CO: I like the idea but It sounds hard, oromay comfort lemidina, I cannot go through
such tough treatment but I will try it and be ready for my relapse. In case I relapse I want to eat KOLKOL fat of the ship before my next treatment, just to refill:)
Saba: Good luck cyberino!

saay7

Hi Saba:

As I said, do go on with your Third self. It is quite fun to watch people (with zero accomplishments) giving themselves hickeys and congratulating themselves for their brilliance:) All we have heard from the Third Way so far is “gentlemen, prepare your engines!” A lot of ahem ahem and clearing throats, but nothing yet. I am also fascinated by what you describe a “venomous reaction” to the Third Way. Over reaction much? You satirize, you get satirized. c’est la vie. I am sure your pharmacy has something for that:)

saay

Saba

Hi Saay,
Which accomplishments did i have mentioned? The Venomous reaction is to these opposition movements/individuals outside of the “cyber opposition”, including Medrek. Now a new one is announced, EMDHR, dubbed as “the Asmara opposition” and we will see the reaction, whether it will be “dolce” or “venomous”.
Satire aside, what is your understanding of the “third way”?
Saba

As the spokesperson of the “Third Way” (saay), can you please put it in an algorithmic fashion, so that we can understand it completely, and have it at the tip of our fingers (manner of speaking). Thank you.

Ali-S

To All,

First thank you SAAY for voting Her Majesty to the throne. She is the first Eritrean Official Spokeswoman and she does it with perfection. I cannot help but be deeply impressed. Thank you Sem for the magnificent speech – I love your sophisticated understanding of our opposition. All the Third Wayers including myself, Hope and dawit have voted her in and by the virtue of writing and approving the speech both you and Sem are deemed to have voted her in. Her acceptance speech in her own words will follow soon.

As SAAY’s concerns:

(1) The Third Way is a movement towards new thinking and we do not need to converge on everything as long as we abide by the principle of “DO NO HARD” to Eritrea. You will find traces of what we have already said even before starting the real stuff in the upcoming crisis and splits of opposition groups. I am surprised it has almost been a year without a split. All we have to do is just show that the Third Way is a winning strategy. Some entrepreneurs will pick up on the arbitrage.

(2) Your comparison to the summer projects is very misplaced. Groups like Medrekh have no objective grounds for existing: (a) too many others are already doing the meteAreQti business and they have not given explanation as to why they would sell more in a saturated market; (b) the claim of having agents inside Eritrea was already exhausted by the EDP and was sold biljumla to the EPDP. Why didn’t they join the EPDP by the way?

(3) We are not claiming originality in any shape or form. But unlike most of the organized opposition and their satellites, we have managed to read the fact that the market for opposition politics is changing due to a few simple facts:

(a) No opposition group can have a permanent friend that is not Eritrean, because such friendships are dependent on the direction of the winds of proxy wars. Almost the entire Eritrean opposition (with the exception of a single SAAY), has adopted Ethiopia as the permanent friend. The danger of allying with the enemy is that you earn the brand of Hamshay mesriE and it is a permanent stamp that outlasts your friendship with the enemy.

(b) Even if it is unlikely that Ethiopia will change the contract and shift sides, it is possible that Ethiopia may fall out of favour with the Eritrean public opinion especially due to the very plausible argument that its wicked foreign policy is to blame for nearly all the emerging horrors.

We believe this is actually happening and opposition groups will (who are very smart) will soon realize the need to stay relevant with new market orientations. The reason the OTTO and other similar promotions failed was probably not because our ideas are substantially different but because their timing was unfortunate. What is brand new in todays opposition market is this simple fact:

In the past, the general perception was that Eritrea as a state was strong enough and could withstand turmoil resulting from the removal of the PFDJ. People were prepared to take calculated risks and that is exactly what the G15 did and the diaspora copied. Today with all the horrors that we see, the general perception is that due to a combination of the PFDJ’s disasters and foreign conspiracies, the very existence of Eritrea is at stake. The PFDJ used to be the whole problem (as most of you still think it to be true). Today, the PFDJ is only part of the problem.

To all those who have seen meaning in this new debate, I say please do not despair. We are here to stay and it is very probable that we will be the only ones who will keep our heads high for pioneering. Cool down, take it easy and reach out to everyone.

My wish would be to convince enough people on our awate group to join hands and take over and lead. Let us engage in substantive dialogue for common ground instead of being stuck in empty, meaningless and exhausting childish ‘look-good’ arguments. No one knows no one here and it adds nothing to personal pride to look good or bad on this forum and in the eyes of people who wouldn’t care one bit whether you are smart or dumb.

Her Majesty: please prescribe some growth-hormones to all the people in this forum.

Ali-S

Correct: DO NO HARM

saay7

Selamat Ali and Saba:

First, Saba. To answer your question: what do I think about The Third Way. As a concept–if it is meant to be let’s we in the opposition re-evaluate ourselves and practices to become more effective–it is a great idea. But like most causes, its advocates (with all due respect) do not rise up to the occasion: there is a mismatch between the message and the messenger. Every time you write, Saba, I am reminded of the hip hop bands from the 1980s: a duo will have ONE hit, they are one-hit wonders but they brag endlessly about how they are destroying all the sucker MCs. Ali Salim slips into that habit of overpromising too, here’s just the latest: “you will find traces of what we have already said even before starting the real stuff in the upcoming crisis and splits of the opposition.” Whatever the effect is, we are the cause. Funny stuff.

Now Ali:

1. Do no harm. Another reference to medicine: Saba is running a rehab clinic and you are giving us bioethics: primum nil nocere. Are you guys frustrated doctors wanna-be?:) But beyond that, here’s what wikipedia says primun nil nocere means: “given an existing problem, it may be better not to do something, or even to do nothing, than to risk causing more harm than good.” You are not helping yourself given the sense of urgency many awatistas have about the situation in Eritrea.

Further, the “Do No Harm To Eritrea” does not appear to also mean “Do No Harm To Erireans.” You can casually call them traitors and sell-outs but its all in the service of Eritrea. In that regard, the Third Way is, notwithstanding the Japanese-style extreme politeness you use in your discourse, very much rooted in the tradition of the First Way (Isaiasism.)

2. Uh-oh. I think the spokesperson of your “cyber organization”, Saba, is going to accuse you of being venomous. Keyjemerkum dma keytba’asu:: I suspect Medrekh did not join EPDP because they want to be The Third Way. It’s part of the grand Eritrean policial opposition tradition to build a new house rather than renovate an old house.

3. When you cover the eyes of an infant and then uncover them, the infant is delighted to make the discovery of his new surroundings. You can do this over and over and the infant will be delighted/surprised each and every time. After age 2, they get it. Child psychologist Piaget discovered this and he called it object permanence or “understanding that objects have a continued existence when they disappear from view.” The Third Way makes the same mistake: it thinks that things that were not in view when it had its eyes closed did not exist and it is delighted to discover them and wants the world to be delighted by its discovery.

(a) Thanks for the compliment but I don’t deserve it (Semere Andom satirized me as being immune to flattery:) and here’s why: as long as there have been Eritrean opposition groups who have seen the Weyane (oops, I mean EPRDF) as their strategic allies, there have been dissidents who have strongly, loudly protested. That’s what I mean when I say the Third Way is not humble.Please do not take it personally that our comprehension of object permanence was developed a little ahead of yours:)

(b) On what percentage of Eritrea’s problems people attribute to PFDJ and what percentage is due to “foreign conspiracies” is subject to debate. The problem is that so far, the Third Way has not advanced the debate. Those who believe that its almost all the result of the authoritarians in Asmara have presented their arguments and supporting evidence and the Third Way has not advanced a single argument that it is a foreign conspiracy. And by argument I mean one supported by evidence (even circumstantial would do.) All The Third Way has done is to ridicule those who present their case that it is nearly all the Asmara regime. If I have missed it, please correct me.

All the best,

saay

* Are we required to call Saba “her majesty”? It will be traumatic for us when she abdicates or gets bored and goes for the Fourth Way.

3.

Hope

Dear Saay,
And what will be your way or the better way then?
SAAY,are you in your right mind to tell us that there is no single circumstantial evidence,let alone a piece of evidence about the Conspiracy or external factor?Well,if so,I am afraid that you might be contradicting yourself.
And if I may correct you,not only the “Third Wayers” ,but also the PFDJ hardliners admit and agree that the PFDJ has contributed tremendously to our mess.
Plus,as much as you give credit to the “Opposition”,for the sake of fairness,the “Third Wayers” deserve the benefit of doubt.

Ali-S

To The Above,
Thank you for responding with what I had expected would be the response.
First Pappi:
Thanks for the brilliant idea that we “think like Isaias to beat Isaias”. Genius indeed but we will leave that for those who can think like Isaias. We do not fit into the moral frame of Isaias. Go ahead and guaranteed we shall never compete.
SG:
I have no idea what you are talking about. Who has the right to include and exclude membership in “opposition”? Who decides which is good opposition and which is bad? Who gives anyone the right to exclude me or us from “opposition”? I think you are giving yourself the right of assigning some people to the role of sole custodians of “victims” is misplaced and I have just as much right to claim the same. My argument is the opposition in its totality, with no distinction, as it stands today, has nothing to do with what you described as “victims”.
Why would anyone feel offended unless they are doing something wrong? Isn’t that the same argument we made to those who claimed feeling offended during the land-grabber debate? My personal opinion here is the same, anyone who knows he/she is doing something wrong welcome to the platform of offensive. The point is that we will not stop calling a spade a spade simply because someone might feel offended. You probably think, the reason I was prepared to say what I said in the previous debate was because I was hiding under a pen-name. Well here we will put that assumption to test.
SAAY,
I have no idea whether you were commenting on what I wrote or you were writing a new post. But wait and see and you never know it might work this time. Again, I have never claimed to have invested anything. If you think some ideas or aspects of my argument have been plagiarized from someone who made them before feel free to draw my attention and rest assured that no dishonesty in claiming the efforts of others is intended.
To All,
SAAY may be right that Saba or any of those who seem to agree on aspects of the debate might not agree on the details. But as long as we agree on the constraints, conflict is the source of growth. All the comments on ganging as Third Way here is of course more for entertainment and may be disregarded.
I know Saba just as much as I know any of the people in the forum. But my very honest impression based on what she has been writing is the quality of the Eritrean that I would wish to rise to her standards. I love her absolutely brilliant mind, her cool and calculated handling of things and thorough knowledge of the dynamics of the debate.
However, SAAY may be right in some aspects. If you refer to the map that Saba drew in one of the posts, you can see that we fall on two extremes of the Third Way. She seems closer to the opposition side than I am and I am closer to the PFDJ side than she would have liked I am sure. In spite of our strong convergence on most issues and substance so far, I am of the impression that she tends to be a little too apologetic (for me) to the opposition. I can understand the need to watch every word that you write for fear of being bullied. I tend to be a little too reckless. I like to think that I have learned about the posturing techniques of standard opposition cadres and I know a dwarf when I see one.
Does that help?

saay7

Selamat Ali:

I numbered my answers to correspond with yours and you still have no idea whether I am replying to you or writing a post?

Hasha, abayka! No, not accusing you of plagiarizing, you were always an original thinker. What I am saying is that you (and Saba) haven’t done the minimum due diligence to ask yourself: was there a Third Way before us? What happened to it? What did it do wrong? What can we learn from its mistakes? You are asking us to open our eyes and look at something new and our eyes have been open all along and we are seeing same-o same-o.

Here’s my goodwill: I am for any movement that can accelerate the momentum of the opposition. The thing is that when you say “it might work this time”, I don’t know what “it” is and I don’t know if I will know whether it has worked or not because I don’t know what the objective or strategy of The New Third Way is. The Third Way shares the most unattractive qualities of the First Way (presenting itself and only itself as patriotic and too casually accusing people of being sellouts and lackeys.) All this when it has no power, not even the power of ideas, or the power of persuasion or debate. The reaction you are getting is a case of ብሕጅኡ ዝነቀወ ዝብ ኢስ ኣየደቀሰናን

saay

Saba

Hi Ali Salim,
It is interesting that you spelled them perfectly the things i wanted to write to you since SAAY comment seems to create a smart wedge between me and you[SAAY, teghetimka aleka:)]. So i will not repeat them here again.
I wish the debate focuses on the issues.
I remember this saying of a guy: “Aytibke indiyu zebkiyeni zelo” similarly “think like Isaias to beat Isaias” is one of the problems that is weakening the opposition because it can not advance its cause. That will make CO=square root of PFDJ initially then later CO=2PFDJ. It is like you wear your hat “nidihrit”(the square root) when you are in the shadow then you wear it nikidmit(2times), tsehay mis mereret(when you are the governing party).
Keep advancing the causes of the third way.
Saba

Ali-S

Saba,

Thanks for the encouragement. We are definitely keep pushing. If you see an audience confused and acting irrationally, be assured it is because what you are saying is starting to make sense. You can imagine the kind of battles you should expect if you try to change this tightly controlled artificial opposition if we are having this kind of talk just to get over the few and only smart activists. I get the feeling that what people write here is not intended for us the addressees but I think there is an intended audience in the shadows.

Saba

Hi Saay,
You started by stating your understanding of the third way but then instead of focusing on the message, you want to focus on its messengers because they are destroying the rest of the opposition with ONE hit over and over ( I do not know that band really). First of all it is better to focus on the message, it is a message that many concerned Eritreans convey. If we achieve a normally functioning democracy, while many of the political gurus will be debating their microscopic differences, I will be living “my dolce vita”[I will not run as a senator against you:) I guarantee you:)]. If you are telling us that we should have respectful manners when we tell them to improve, then I am open to that. If you are telling us we are inexperienced, we do not know Eritrean and world history, we have not read enough literatures, may be not to your level but we are correctly indicating that the opposition has not shown any improvement, even when PFDJ is so weak with no allies. I think you agree with the last sentence and we are pointing to that. And as an opposition group, you should encourage politically inexperienced people, young people and women. Most people who are fleeing are young but I do not see them joining the opposition in masses. We should study that why and then encourage young people to join the opposition.
The third way is open to anyone as long as you have Eritrea and Eritreans at heart and you do not advocate civil war. Those are the pillars. And I think you agree on that. We start with the common ground. Me and Ali Salim, we do not agree in everything. We agree on the pillars of the third way. I knew him through awate.com and that is the only way we communicate, like I do with you[So no skillful wedges].
About the “object permanence” thing, there is a “weakness permanence” of the cyber opposition to use your comparison. If we try to close our eyes hoping that they will improve the next time
and when we open our eyes, it is still there. If you are telling us that this was there and we know it and it will persist unaltered, we are not insensitive to that extent to ignore it, and we will indicate it clearly. If you are telling that many of the opposition groups are so desensitized to this problem, we will indicate them repeatedly [here comes Rehab:)]. If you are asking why now, everybody has his/her threshold of when to start.
So the best thing to do is to focus on the message!
Saba

* PS: If i exit from the third way to my “dolce vita”, i will still send you post cards with stamps from my “dolce vita, for your stamp collection, so do not worry it will not be traumatic.

saay7

Ah, Saba:

This must be a Third Way thing, this sense of entitlement, this one rule for me, one rule for you. You are asking me to focus on the message and not the messenger. Sounds like a reasonable request. But what you do in your rehab center (is it licensed by the way?) is to focus entirely on the messengers (the cyber opposition) with little (if any) focus on what is it about their message that you are criticizing.

People come to awate forum either to (a) “harurom kewtsu”; (b) to entertain themselves and others; (c) to persuade others, or to be persuaded by others or, since the overwhelming majority of our visitors are readers and not participants (the original “silent majority”) (d) to learn. My assessment is that while you and Ali Salim are good at (a) and (b), your time (if you are serious about your mission) would be better spent on (c) and (d). This, of course, assumes that you are serious about what you want to achieve.

Beyond that, really, you and Ali Salim are very smart people. So, ask yourself this question: if a person has been told you are a traitor, a sell-out, had chairs thrown at him, and paid dearly for it–denied visitation rights to his homeland and to his family–by people who carry guns and abuse their power (the Isaisists), do you really think that your little insults at them are going to have any impact on them beyond annoy them? Simply put: your shock therapy can’t work cause it doesn’t have enough voltage.

If you want to live in a cyber world where you claim victories you haven’t register (yeah, I converted someone, he is making a u-turn), claim membership you don’t have (yeah, we have increased from 2 to 3), you have become everything you hate about the opposition: a self-congratulating machine that has deluded itself into thinking it is bigger than it is, and has accomplished more than it has. Now, if that is meant to be satire, as I said, go on with your Third self.

saay

* Um, by the way, I noticed that Medrek do not qualify for “cyber opposition” and are, presumably, tangible opposition. Pray tell, what is the distinction: is it having short-wave radio? 🙂

Pappillon

Dear Ali Salim,

Show-casing your flair for stand up comedy? Impressive. If the Third-wayers don’t amount much or fall through, comedy is a fall back plan B. I ain’t kidding you. I was hoping to read something of a different but all I read is paranoia and more paranoia. The reason I admire Isaias the tyrant is he is incredibly focused and goal oriented in the sense that he knows exactly what he is after. That is precisely the reason he is successful in his personal life. Let me walk you through his mind: If Isaias was the opposition, he would exactly focus on Isaias the tyrant for he is the real issue at hand. When the unbearable lightness of mediocrity focuses on outliers (read: Weyanes and other ግዳማዊ ተጻባእቲ ሓይልታት), Isaias plays you in a real and borrowed time for he exactly knows that people like you do not amount to his acumen for an adversary. You need to think like Isaias to beat Isaias.

Saleh Johar

Ali,
Your provocative comments are good for debating. I give you that. But your insistence to insult everybody in the opposition without qualifiers is disheartening. For some of us who have heard your type of tired insults coming from the PFDJ groupies for over a decade, it is deja vu. We thought that people outgrew such ayni’bley sni’bley swinging, where everyone in front, behind, of your left and right is not spared. I thought that was so 2000ish. Today, the opposition spectrum includes everyone who is against tyranny. Of course there are a few who are so angry the waves have changed direction that they want to kill the spirit of the opposition; they will do anything to break the back of the opposition so that the ganta wedini will continue to do what it does best: show its sadist nature. The majority of those in the opposition are common citizens who are not after re-engineering the society or lording over them. They are not after luxurious pass-times like indulging in philosophical matters. They just want justice, and freedom from oppression. Should they apologize for that? People are simply struggling to regain their rights and in pursuit of justice. The organized opposition (parties) are a fraction of the total number of the opposition; those who you poin fingers at to define the entire opposition through them are even smaller. You know that, yet you are working hard to define the opposition with a one-size-fits-all formula. Why? Why do you target the opposition in its entirety? If your beef is the Ethiopian connection, you are not sparing even those who share your views on that aspect, though no one agrees with you that the opposition should roll over and die. So, what is your motive? Does your ambition, whatever it is, require you to stand on top of the opposition corpses to appear taller? Don’t you have any respect for the many veterans, who consider themselves in the opposition, and who have spent their lives in pursuit of a mere dignity that should be accorded to a citizen?

By default, almost the entire dwellers of the refugee camps consider themselves opposition. The entire people who lost their lands, those whose case you seemed to support for years, consider themselves opposition–it will be a disaster if you consider them neutral on the struggle to end the injustices befalling them for decades!

My friend, the opposition is wider, much wider, than you try to make it appear. As for the civil war that you accuse the opposition of, believe me, if those people were not restrained, not responsible but reckless as you wish to make them appear, igniting a match is not that difficult in our type of neighborhood. At least recognize that. They resisted temptations and they have been responsible so far. On the contrary, the regime whose legitimacy you are shyly promoting, is the most violent entity that ever walked the Eritrean land. So, please spare the readers your hyperbole. Please stop your series-two test of emotions. If you take my advice, please focus on building your Third Way party without stepping on the toes of people who never wronged you by struggling for their rights. Did they wrong you Ali?

Pappillon

Dear Saleh Johar,

Brilliant, brilliant a million times brilliant!!! ኣገናዕ ዝሓወይ

N.B. ዓሊ ሳሊም ልቢ ኣጥሪ ካብ ኣያኻ ተማሃር

Hope

Dear Johar,
Well said.Nothing to add or object.But I am afraid that you might have missed Ali Salim’s points,at least based on how I have read both of you.
Let Ali Salim clarify himself but I thought I can ask for clarification and throw my opinion.
Can you, rather,challenge his points paragraph by parapraph so that we can undertsnad both of you clearly?
I thought he was trying to be constructive and to come to a midway so as to how we can handle our problems in a consturctive and collective manner.
He specifically target one kind of opposition only, which is fully engineered,monitored,sponsored,manipulated,funded,supported,baby-sitted,etc—and he clarified his position and his concerns.
I am not sure why you have misquoted him as if he is refuting and ignoring those in the camps every where, who are anxiously waiting for a relief and sigh,and ,who in fact,are the Major Oppositon Group without a “Zeray”..Did I miss something?
Don’t we have a right to express our concern to challenge,even to “insult” those who needed to be “insulted” in a proper way?
Are you denying in a day light that there are few Oppositon Groups that need to be challenged objectively and constructively?
It is good to be “fair”, “nice” and to be “diplomatic”,but at the same time it is necessary to call a spade,a spade.
Yes,thanks to God,we have resisted temptations and have chosen to be restrained and I believe Ali Salim’s concern is that we have to make sure that this “restraint” should be maintained by avoiding all factors that can lead to a disaster.
Here is what he is saying,quote:
“In the past, the general perception was that Eritrea as a state was strong enough and could withstand turmoil resulting from the removal of the PFDJ. People were prepared to take calculated risks and that is exactly what the G15 did and the diaspora copied. Today with all the horrors that we see, the general perception is that due to a combination of the PFDJ’s disasters and foreign conspiracies, the very existence of Eritrea is at stake. The PFDJ used to be the whole problem (as most of you still think it to be true). Today, the PFDJ is only part of the problem.
To all those who have seen meaning in this new debate, I say please do not despair. We are here to stay and it is very probable that we will be the only ones who will keep our heads high for pioneering. Cool down, take it easy and reach out to everyone.
My wish would be to convince enough people on our awate group to join hands and take over and lead. Let us engage in substantive dialogue for common ground instead of being stuck in empty, meaningless and exhausting childish ‘look-good’ arguments. No one knows no one here and it adds nothing to personal pride to look good or bad on this forum and in the eyes of people who wouldn’t care one bit whether you are smart or dumb”.
Am I missing something here?
Please elaborate.

Saleh Johar

Hope, you wrote,”Don’t we have a right to express our concern to challenge,even to “insult” those who needed to be “insulted” in a proper way?Type your reply…”

I am a bit behind on this one. You just taught me that there is a proper way to insult others!

You also said, “he target one kind of opposition only.” Wrong. If that was the case, I wouldn’t have commented. And you have not read his articles and comments attentively. If you did, you wouldn’t have come with your comments that is not anywhere in my comment or Ali’s. Finally, since you said I have “misquoted him.” I challenge you to bring one sentence in which I misquoted him–by the way, I didn’t quote him at all, I just commented on his views and attitude.

You asked me is I am”denying that there opposition that need to be be engaged constructively and objectively?” I never said that. But is that to be done by insulting the opposition wholesale in a proper insulting way?

Hope, I feel you didn’t read or understand my comment. My gist is not criticism, but putting qualifiers when insulting a large body, as the opposition. But you think my criticism is misplaced. I believe your reading of my comment is not correct, far from it.

You also seem to promote constructive

You started by s

Hope

Johar,
I used your own word insult in ” “,which you know well what it means in ” “.I thought you could have understood me better.,But NO,I would not insult any one—-but I do not want to misquote or quote you on that–for the sake of fairness–as we have gone through this and that for the last 10yrs now.
There is ONE FACT you cannot deny by any standard,if you want me to be blunt:
The Opposition that Ali Salim might be be mentioning,God forbid that he did not “Insult” in a wholesale,did not do anything constructive other than being part of the problem—-Now, read carefully so as to avoid misundetstanding.
I am just quoting you from your previous “lectures’ about the weaknesses and drawbacks of the Opposition.
I respect and admire/appreciate your reconcilaitory tone but we are debating now….based on facts and experience..
Here is what he said:
(a) No opposition group can have a permanent friend that is not Eritrean, because such friendships are dependent on the direction of the winds of proxy wars. Almost the entire Eritrean opposition (with the exception of a single SAAY), has adopted Ethiopia as the permanent friend. The danger of allying with the enemy is that you earn the brand of Hamshay mesriE and it is a permanent stamp that outlasts your friendship with the enemy.
(b) Even if it is unlikely that Ethiopia will change the contract and shift sides, it is possible that Ethiopia may fall out of favour with the Eritrean public opinion especially due to the very plausible argument that its wicked foreign policy is to blame for nearly all the emerging horrors.
And his wish is:
“My wish would be to convince enough people on our awate group to join hands and take over and lead. Let us engage in substantive dialogue for common ground instead of being stuck in empty, meaningless and exhausting childish ‘look-good’ arguments. No one knows no one here and it adds nothing to personal pride to look good or bad on this forum and in the eyes of people who wouldn’t care one bit whether you are smart or dumb”.

At last,one way or another,he is still making a ” legal U-turn”–making a reconiliatory tone.
Plus,please,when responding back,try NOT to be like ” Hope”,rather,teach us how to respond in a better way.Avoid taking things perosonal—I stand corrected if I read you worng..

Ermias

Saay, that was an immaculate piece you wrote here. I have been wanting to say the very same things you said but hey some of us are not as gifted as you are. So I thank whoever created you for creating you. OTTO! I like that name, very befitting. The funny thing is that you will not hear Ali-S criticizing PFDJ but Saba gives a lip service by saying ‘oh ya PFDJ is not good and we need to weaken it.’ She has never called them out on one specific tragic crime they committed. She is here relentlessly attacking the opposition, calling them all kinds of belittling names but she doesn’t have the urge nor the desire to acknowledge that Eritreans are suffering at the hands of PFDJ and not the opposition. I really liked her at first because I thought she had some fresh ideas but in the end, she is an agent of PFDJ, closet agent.

Ali-S

Ermias,

Your observation is accurate. But we though to complement you instead of competing with you.

You and the opposition are doing a great job in criticizing the PFDJ for the bad and the good that they have ever done. What is missing is someone who criticizes the opposition for being too dumb to understand that doing the same leads to the same.

I know you are impressed with all the achievements of the opposition and have read your views on the superpower that owns the opposition. Please let us help open your eyes.

Our goal is to reform the opposition not the PFDJ and unless you are cross-eyed you should be able to figure out where to hit the hammer. Our goal is to create an alternative to the PFDJ and we first need to say why the current Ethiopia-owned opposition is not a good alternative.

A smart businessperson produces products that sell. These days what sells to the public is a small machine called “opposition-crusher” because people have realized that they have been buying a lot of stink called “opposition” and need to find environmentally safe ways of crushing what they had bought.

Ermias

Hi Ali-S,

You are never short for words, as bright as you are.

The issue is that you and more so Saba recently have been downright antagonistic and perhaps malicious to the people who are opposing the regime. Not everybody is a member of a group.

I have challenged Saba before to distinguish between an opposition group, cyber opposition, and activism. I gave her my definitions of each but I have yet to hear a clear distinction from her.

I have also challenged her to name one opposition group and give just a few basic specifics about it. She is incapable of answering any question. Rather she comes up with more rhetorical and belittling questions dodging every question.

I understand your concern Ali-S. I firmly believe that it is the concern of the average Eritrean. I have explained that before. But you cannot and must not give legitimacy to the IA regime by virtue of the opposition’s close ties to Ethiopia. IA and PFDJ have proven that they are incapable of defending any of the interests of Eritreans. But you seem to believe that they are keeping the nation intact. I beg to differ in that regard.

The biggest threat to the existence of Eritrea as we know it is PFDJ not the opposition people. You can have a puppet regime but for one thing I don’t consider good bilateral relations with Ethiopia upto allowing the use of Assab with no limits as puupetness. For another thing, if a good puppet regime brings peace, justice, dignity, and prosperity to Eritreans, what’s wrong with that? I say we have to negotiate and try it in our terms because again Ethiopia will be there in bad, good, and ugly days. Weyo kemzibahal si “hilmi ferrihka keydekeska mihdar” keykewn.

Ali-S

Ermias,

You are the brilliant one so let me ask you this:

Read your post and that of all those who criticize us. Don’t you think there is something wrong when all of you are more interested in denying you association to the people we are referring to than in making sure we count you in? You see Saba and me are new in this business. Why don’t you go ahead and give us a list of those that you think are bad opposition. I promise to stick to your list. Or coin any term that suits our needs better.

haile

Selamat Ali-S and Ermias,

First off, let me take a couple fuzzy points made by Ali-S (in characteristic manner) by the throttle. PFDJ is main and significant Ethiopia-owned entity in Eritrean political landscape. PFDJ has had nothing to offer the Eritrean people other than parasitically suck them dry in the guise of “the all pervading Ethiopia”. In a free Eritrea, our relationship with Ethiopia would be lawful, all encompassing and the the sky would be the limit of our scope of cooperation. His death mask diplomacy will never have a leg to stand muchless a a wing to fly on. According to his earlier entries, virtually every Eritrean who DEMANDS the removal of the dictatorial and unlawful regime of Isaias Afewerki is directly or indirectly working for “external” forces. His “reform” doesn’t amount more than labeling 95% of Eritreans traitors. Because all of that proportion needs change that results in the removal of the regime. To lead and organize opposition in the diaspora is not for the faint hearted, where 9 in 10 people are most concerned about their individual well being as opposed to national matters. There is hard work needed to recruit a person dreaming to meet their family in Eritrea before their final departure into political activity. That is why most people opt to covertly sabotage the regime. We have seen many decent looking fellow Eritreans swaggering in trying to blame the victims of Lampedusa for their own tragic fate. Many of those people are headed to Eritrea to meet their aging parents now. Don’t trust a word they say, if all of the opposition were to decide to cut any relationship with Ethiopia from now to the end of time, the same “most of our people” would come back to pontificate that the opposition people are on average too tall, too short or too fat to support and that is why they feel at loss for lack of a best fit opposition and hence getting those air tickets to go to see their family (thirsty, in the dark, without electricity or human rights…). In simple words, it is about time to admit the truth that many people (rank and file of the “silent majority” that I studied for some time now) are actually trapped in acting in dishonorable way and their projection of that shame onto the “opposition” is just shame management.

At home, the Eritrean people don’t stand a single chance. Despite our admiration of our tegadelti in the independence struggle, some of their ranks (I dare say in their name…) have committed and continue to commit massive violations that our people have no single way of expressing a minutest form of descent. The crimes of these sections of tegdelty (mostly on the security organs) will probably live for generations in the Eritrean psych. Their evil towards Eritreans is next to impossible to imagine. Why do you think Eritreans are running left and right from the country at an astounding rate, faster than those undergoing severe conflict situation? Facts speak for themselves. We know what the regime is capable of in talking with forked tongue in its last leg of blunders. But the message to the father of all these minions here, IA, is clear, GET OUT OR YOU WILL BE MADE TO WITH ANY MEANS NECESSARY. Our diplomacy with Ethiopia or others is a matter for us Eritreans, and nobody needs their opinion at this juncture. Z’aKlen T’hinen n’beale mariam ybla!

Regards

hope

But there is the”uknown and the uncertain” thing–with certain and proven bad signs on the ground already.i.e.,the divide and rule tactics based on Ethnicity,Religion and Region..and with blown out and official support of “the Independence of the Red Sea Afars”…..
Since you keep labeling people as PFDJ puppets for your convenience,you sound more than the Amb of the Weyanes here–
Let us be real—The Weyanes know well that-“The biggest threat to the existence of Eritrea as we know it is PFDJ not the opposition people” ,as it has worked for their strategy of dividing Eritreans.This is NOT specualtion or assumption,but the official policy and the Modius Operandi of the Gov of Ethiopia, as it is well documneted in their mouth pieces.
Case in point,the Forto Incident scared your weyanes as they do NOT want any new leader that might jeoparadise their strategy an dthat bring about everlasting Peace and Prosperity and unflinching Unity among Eritreans,leading to the old staus quo of strong Eritrea.

Capito/comprendo real politics,bro?

hope

An addendum to my response:
Read Haile the Great,quote:”PFDJ is main and significant Ethiopia-owned entity in Eritrean political landscape”,end of quote.

Pappillon

ኢርምያስ ሓወይ ዲዕ ዝበለት ህግደፍ መንደፍ እምበር. She could as well be Asmara-Rose. Who knows!

Ermias

Asmara Rose! Thank you Papi. That gave me the first giggle of the morning. I hope to carry on for the whole day.
I prefer to nickname Saba as CPA (Closet PFDJ Agent) until she comes out in full daylight and declares her allegiance to PFDJ.

hope

Ooop,I forgot to tell you that she is the younger sister of Asmara Rose.

Hope

She is entitled to her stand and opinion though.But she already made a clear disclaimer many a time on PFDJ issue.
Per recent history,I thought it was the “Opposition”,which “betrayed Eritrea and Eritreans” at least for NOT being a better alternative to your ” criminal and useless PFDJ”.
BTW,Asmara Rose could have changed the “game'” of this debate” and I am afraraid of,that some of us would have required some dipers.
But it would be an insult to mention her let alone to invite her as it would be a disrespct to invite some one like her,who could be the head of the UN, if not the President of Eritrea,besides being a de facto Amb of the State of Eritrea during the bad and good times..
And you are?Come out from the cave where you are hiding in and act like Asmara Rose,if you have the GUT!!

Hope

She is entitled to her stand and opinion though.But she already made a clear disclaimer many a time on PFDJ issue.
Per recnt history,I thought it was the “Opposition”,which “betrayed Eritrea and Eritreans” at least for being the alternative to you ” criminal and useless PFDJ”.
BTW,Asmara Rose could have changed the “game'” of this debate” and I am afraraid of that some us would have required some dipersBut it would be an insult to invite her as it would be a disrespct to invite some one like her,who could be the head of the UN, if not the President of Eritrea,besides being a de facto PAmb of the State of Eritrea during the bad and good times..

AMAN

The PFDJ is bad for Eritrea but I also know that
the OPPOSITION is worst for Eritrea.
And I have many reasons for saying this.
Neither the PFDJ nor the Opposition has represented and championed
the true need of the Eritrean people. It is only the nationalists called silent
or silenced majorities that did so. That is truly represented the people and
the country.
The two opposing partisans are simply labouring to take the credit and deed
done by the people. While they were absent from their presence to the people
and abandoned their responsibility for years.
It is clear that they are simply trying the people as their horse to transport them
from here to there whiping some good sounding false patritism.
I actually think that PFDJ was simply bringing the opposition to the house of sin
where he is in to join him in their assault on the people with a see saw strategy.
And they did answer his bidding well.

Semere Tesfai

Why do we label professionals as PFDJ or as an opposition? Can’t Meb be an athlete, a proud Eritrean American with close ties to his Eritrean roots, with out getting himself into Eritrean politics? Can any government bureaucrat/professional in Eritrea be a proud Eritrean without being branded PFDJ – a bureaucrat/professional like – a doctor, a lawyer, a nurse, a Military General, a police chief, a judge, an artist, a government contractor……? For many people politics is just a hubby that doesn’t interest them – simple as that.

What’s wrong if opposition and PFDJits pose for a photo and dance together on Independence Day? What is wrong if an opposition and PFDJits gather together, and spend time together during Martyr’s Day? I do it all the time. Does that make me less of an opposition? Do I have to hate PFDJites to be true opposition? I hope not.

To tell you the truth, I don’t hate PFDJits. I love them. They are my Eritrean brothers and sisters. I just don’t agree on certain things, yes only on certain things with them. I commend and praise them for their hard work and for defending the country we all love. I’m just an opposition to the PFDJ regime not because I hate them but because we can do better. And that is what I want the opposition to say; but that’s just me.

Hope

Thanks Vet for reading my mind and for being straight.

Ermias

Dear Semere ‘Congo’ Tesfai,
Please allow me to engage you paragraph by paragrarph.
Paragraph 1. You are mostly correct and I agree with you that as an athlete, Meb should be treated just as that. A great athlete with an incredible endurance. He basically ran at the speed of 4.85 minutes/mile for 26 miles. Next time, I urge Awatistas to ran around a track and time themselves. Anyone who does 7- 8 minutes per mile for only 2 miles is in great shape.
However, the concern is that he should either be completely neutral (and not be on a photo with a criminal) or if he has to bring any political attention, it should be for the right cause. The right cause at this point in our history is fighting PFDJ for the henious crimes the regime is committing against Eritreans. Given that he was born in 1975, Meb would have been a first round Sawa victim. He would have four – five kids and he would have seen his wife just four or five times, and made the babies upon every visit. He would not be in their birthdays. Come on Semere, need I go on? I don’t think so be cause I know you know better.
Paragraph 2. That is funny. I am not sure if I need to continue but let me indulge anyway. I go to independence day celebrations, not the guaylas (I hate guaylas except weddings which I love so much because I see at least two genuinely happy persons) but the picnics. Oh my! The nhna nsu crowd dances with pcitures of IA all over the park. I ask myself, is this IA day or independence day? Plus, many genuinely remark by saying, ‘we haven’t had our freedom yet as Eritreans and so there is nothing to celebrate quite yet.’ I sympathize with that. But I do always wonder when they show on TV, Eritreans in the country dancing in Asmara streets, that is an opportunity for a moooob (as IA calls it) to topple the IA regime but hizbina tedahilu eyu bezom gohalalu.
Anyway, you are pretending like the PFDJ operatives welcome everybody to take pictures with them. They turn away know opposition members. Again, I know you know better.
Paragraph 3. You are commending PFDJites for defending the country? Are you serious? So you mean to tell us that the poor Eritreans who died in the wars were PFDJites at heart? Who defended the country? Who are you calling PFDJites, maybe we need to come up with a good definition of PFDJites? To me PFDJites is etom loqmatsat abzi tehabiom hagerna hagerna ziblu. They evade 2%, they steal money they raise during shimagle baalat, they purposefully isolate people by region, religion, and political views, they have no morals and ethics. If you are calling them heroes for organizing dance nights, then you need help.
Eritreans in Eritrea is the ones who defended the country by giving their sons and daughters. But let’s talk about defending, shall we? What has been defended? All the things, you guys say has been defended has not been defended. We know the truth. Where is the Ethiopian line now? Where are we diplomatically? The Eritrean people are facing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. Sanctions because of a rogue regime…Sorry I am going to quit because I lose my patience….

haile

Hey Ermi, shelel belo 🙂 When he says PFDJ defended Eritrea, he meant it that PFDJ defended al shabab at the cost of Eritrea’s ability to defend itself. Yes IA was bluffing the world that al shabab were not terrorists just patriotic Somali who wanted to unite their country with the common religion of that nation…till Nairobi that was. As a result, Eritrea can’t defend itself now. Can’t even import a screw that can be used for military purposes.

On your “PFDJites is etom loqmatsat abzi tehabiom hagerna hagerna ziblu”, I have a news for you what they are up to as we speak. Following Askalu’s vist to US recently, PFDJ has started a fresh offensive through its Shimagle Bealat. They are making phone calls to diaspora women calling them to revive the women association hamade in diaspora. This is yet another attempt at trying to get the youth that have abandoned PFDJ enmass in the diaspora (where is Gedab news when we need it:). Eritrean women justice seekers need to be alerted about this and deal it a death blow before it fools the usual hgdef targets for such ploys.

Regards

Ermias

Hailat, it has been clear all along to me that in the diaspora, they like to create one mahber menseyat (YPFDJ), one hamade, one community, and one church. Their failed plan has been to get all those four organizations to work in tandem in all cities and embezzle the money those orgs would generate but they failed utterly everywhere. Women’s organizations is their last hope but I don’t hear of as many ኣዴታት መመሸጥ ወርቂ ኣብ ኣልባሶአን ጌረን ዝስዕስዓ. ዕርቃኖም ተቓሊዑ እዩ ሎሚስ. ኣስካሉ እዛ ነውራም ምዕንጅሉ ካኣ ገና ትሃልል ኣላ ከም ኣድጊ፤

hope

But what about you?Have you succeeded in creating ONE?As Assenna said it eloquently,PFDJ is doing its job,are we or are you?

Abinet

Ermi
Could you please forget politics for a day and watch the game? Don’t tell me you missed it this time . No excuses!!
Good luck

Ermias

Abi, I am heading over at the moment to watch the game. I am happy for all three remaining teams. But I am afraid if it’s possible to beat athleti and then Real Madrid. It will be a great game. I pick Chelsea 2 -0.

Ermias

Abi, it’s only 75 min into the game but I tip my hat off to atletico Madrid, great team, great coach, which I have always liked even during his River Plate days. They were the better team today, no question about it. I hope MO comes out and blames his line up, which he is solely responsible for. Why did he put Ashley Cole in there?

Good luck atleti in the final.

Diego Costa for Chelsea next season.

House of Stark

Ermias

1) It will cost you (Chelsea) a lot to get Diego Costa .
2) Atletico Madrid is going to win two cup this season. You heard it first.

Abinet

Ermi
What Chelsea needs is a proven striker not like Eto who is ready for assisted living in the soccer world .costa or may be Suarez or both will do.they should also get rid of Fernando tores .he has lost all his confidence .
See you next season

saay7

Ermias:

If I remember correctly, you are 2 for 2 in forecasting sports winners. You called the Superbowl and… I forget the other one.

If you follow basketball, it is NBA season and it’s time to make forecasts and be awate’s official Sports Correspondent (now that Nitricc is retired.)

East: _____ vs _____
West: _____ vs _____
Finals: _____ vs ______

Our here in California, with the Lakers and Kings (no surprise) destroyed, we are stuck with Golden West and Clippers.

saay

Ermias

Saay, I have to admit I was an avid NBA fan but my hatred for Kobe made me drift away. Specially game 7 against the kings. Remember that year. Oh my great college days but the NBA fixed that game. I cried literally because my college room mate from San Bernardino to this day makes me pay lunch for that rigged series.

I think it will be the heat vs spurs. I never bet against the spurs but I have to see how the conference semis go first before I pick a champion yet.

Amanuel

Hi Ermias
Sorry your team lost tonight. To be honest, they didn’t deserve to win. It is shame that Chelsea are becoming the face of negative football. What happened last Sunday is a disgrace. A team with 27% ball possession won 2 nil. BTW I am not Liverpool fan. At last what happened to your friend Netricc. Has he changed his nick.

ghezaehagos

Selam Ato Semere Tesfay,
Is it too much to ask Meb to simply point out the plight of the Eritrean people, the Eritrean prisoners, the Eritrean Pentecostals, the Eritrean journalists, the Eritrean elders, the Eritreans?
If these are too political for you, how about asking the USA and the West to come rescue Eritrean refugees from human traffickers, from high sea mega-tragedy, from concentration camps in some neighbouring countries? Is it too much to use his celebrity status to draw US and the West to RESETTLE more Eritreans from refugee camps?
Ghezae Hagos

Semere Tesfai

Ghezae

Some people are just plain professionals. Some people don’t share your political hobby. And you’ve to respect that. If some Eritreans want to remain professional athletes/artists/engineers/servicemen/women or just an ordinary Joe, what’s wrong with that?

What if an Eritrean doesn’t want take part into the Eritrean divisive/polarized politics – the politics of “us vs them”, the politics of “highlanders vs Lowlanders”, the politics of “concentration camps, slave camps….” and the politics of “PFDJ Ktet and mekhetes”. Does that make them any less Eritreans?

You said: “How about asking (Meb) the USA and the West to come rescue Eritrean refugees from human traffickers, from high sea mega-tragedy, from concentration camps in some neighbouring countries?”

Ghezae: the West doesn’t need Meb’s wisdom or plea to stop the suffering of Eritreans. And to your information “rescuing Eritrean refugees from human traffickers”, “rescuing Eritreans from high sea mega-tragedy”, “rescuing Eritreans from concentration camps in some neighbouring countries” is not a solution. It is band-aid solution at best.

If you’re truly determined to stop drugs in your community, you don’t stop it by going after the drug dealers at the street corner of your home; you stop it at the source.

Hope

Again,without any bias,well said Vet.But I would opt for both short term and long term solutions.
While rescuing those who need the rescue immediately,we need to work at the same time to dismantle the root cause of those tragedies—
Now,I think we all are on the same page and it is a matter of reaching into a consensus and constructive compromise in a balanced way.
History and daily experience is the witness that ” extremsism” does not work well ,rather ,it ends up or leades to another extremsim.
I am talikng about a “Real Third Way” approach–be it Saba’s, Ali Salim’s, Semere Tesfay’s or SAAY’s way….
Is this too much to ask for?I am sure I am not confused but this is a plain truth-2+2=4

ghezaehagos

Selam Semere Tesfay,

” Ghezae: the West doesn’t need Meb’s wisdom or plea to stop the suffering of Eritreans. And to your information “rescuing Eritrean refugees from human traffickers”, “rescuing Eritreans from high sea mega-tragedy”, “rescuing Eritreans from concentration camps in some neighbouring countries” is not a solution. If not a problem in itself, it is band-aid solution at best.
Knowing the limits of Meb, nobody expects him to save Eritrea or deal with the root cause. And, it takes more than an athlete. That is why I pointed out an area that is achievable; agreeable to all Eritreans; saving refugees.
My suggestion goes like this: He doesn’t have to mention root causes; all he can highlight is refugee crisis of Eritreans. Hence, request, the USA and Canada and the Western world to open their doors for Eritrean refugees, to increase the number of refugees to be settled and to expedite the ones in process.
Again, this doesn’t solve the root problem; it doesn’t intend to. It saves some people. Very few, may be; but he saves Eritreans, his PEOPLE from death.
Ghezae Hagos

haile

Ato Ghezae,

The well known artist Michael Adonay (tegadalay) has just done that in Australia with his latest exhibition of “I don’t want to be a refugee”. Meb is a businessman and HGDEF is a contrabandista men mKuwanka knegreka ms men kem tKeyd ngereni…ayntayomn eyu. I judged Meb long time ago (not in a bad way, he is indeed entitled to his own views and stands, but that he isn’t a strong character for that sort of expectation) so didn’t even feel there was any real value to Eritrea in what he does (except to serve as lipstick in a pig for hgdef). And hence didn’t join the whoa other than a modest appreciation of his talent like I would with any Japanese athlet. Nothing like Zeresenay who would get us jump from our sits even if we aren’t much into running. ezi sebAy gdefo n’beal Semere yKunom 🙂

dawit

“Meb was born in Asmara, Eritrea and came to the USA when he was 12”. Is this information in the world media, giving you a heart attack? Would you reacted in such virulent way if the media mentioned his origin as ‘Ethiopia’ and he visited the Ethiopian Mission at UN?

mickielle

Dear Ali Salim
Hard to know what is a satire from all the stuff you say, and what is not. Is all the U-turns a satire and you are your old self?
It is fitting to call it a satire if you are flogging the opposition and warming up to the evil system, but then again you would not call an ‘imbecile’ opposition. teena zeloka aytmesln eka.

Amanuel

Dawit
I am not trying to deny them their Eritrean origin ( no body has the ability to do that for that matter!). Meb is a public figure and I am questioning his judgment. There are other nautrual avenues for him to motivate young Eritreans. At the end of the day, it is his choice.

As per Aster Yohannes, you are implying that she must have done something wrong to ask for permission. She didn’t ask for permission to go back. What she asked for was for her safety. As the support of the regime it may not bother you, but it is normal practice for many Eritreans to ask for their safety as there is no rule of law or due process. Anyone can put you in jail (Atsnahaly ksab ztsare like the Mantile joke*) and forget about you.

*Mantile Joke goes like this. The regime in Eritrea declared that all Carnivores will go to prison. As expected animals like Lion, Tiger and Hayna were worried but unexpectedly, Mantile ( Rabbit) was more worried and she was like “what am going to do? Where am going to go?” Then Lion thought, hung on why are you so worried? You don’t eat meat. And Mantile said “anta Anbesa ksab Ztsare Ke men Kasero” (“I don’t want to be in prison until they make sure that i am not a carnivores”)

haile

OK OK guys, we’ve already had this deciphered,

Meb had no Eritrea in his agenda during his current debut.
He never mentioned it associated it with his work in any way shape or form. I
am saying that during his running, winning, and media presentation…he acted
and is an American for all purposes and intents. Girma hangs on by the doors
outside Mebs UN engagement (why wasn’t he inside that little qetafi:) and winks
and ushers Meb into his dig at the UN HQ. photo is taken and boom…the useless
hgdef media is on it with crazy things
as he wished IA health (we didn’t know he is sick again:), dictatorship long
life (ok kidding). In a usual manner an opposition member expresses
disappointment at the lost opportunity that to give some of the dire issues of
Eritreans a podium through Meb’s good offices. And the typical after party
shize of hgdef hits the fan in accusing people of not being happy with anything
positive about Eritrea (although this was not about Eritrea and there are
people like Zeresenay to consider about Eritrea). This time around I had
foretold what was gonna happen before first Saba, then hope and then dawit
lined up to say exactly what was predicted. That indeed is the whole purpose of
such media gimmicks by hgdef. If Meb was to come to radio assenna tomorrow and
express solidarity with the oppressed people of Eritrea then he is no longer
good news about Eritrea for hope+Saba+dawit. huh!

Here is an interesting twist, imagine that we’ve people like
hope and saba in the opposition. What would it been like? Do you know what I
mean? Ok, dawit is playing by the rules, he openly supports the regime and has
to do what he is doing, it wouldn’t make sense otherwise (hey dawit, how much
do you pay them:) Now imagine we had people like saba and hope in the
opposition. This would be their talking point:

“The opposition is a woyane and CIA stooge and I am
100% behind my govt. However, our government would never improve the country
because it is a failed, unjust, criminal, and dictatorial. I support my
government but where is the beef, no constitution, no budget, false accusations
of outsiders for its miserable failures, never takes responsibility,
unaccountable, diplomatically failed, a danger to the nation, lives off a
crisis, a dishonour to our nation and people, caused our people to flee in mass
and never feels an iota of regret of the tragedies it instigated, arrests and
disappears without rule of law, a truly disastrous entity for our country and
its future generation. Look I support my government and who are you to judge
me.”

It is amazing that hope+saba+Ali-S[inferred from available
data] are the ones to feel the obligation to insult the Eritrean people’s intelligence
with dawit’s agenda. Mid you, rule of engagement allows dawit to do what he is
doing but what about the two so called “opposition” (God knows to
what) duo who root for hgdef. Now, here is a model for some opposition to play
dumb like that 🙂

Peace out

Ali-S

Haile,

Glad to see you closer and closer to the U-Turn by the day. You are right on this. I will give you one frame to help you make out the seeming confusion:

Support for the State & Government is external for outsiders including as you said Weyo and ill-wishers.
Opposition in the Third Way is internal for Eritreans who want change and wish Eritrea stand tall and strong for Eritreans and in the face of the notorious outsiders.

These are the limits and do your magic within the constraints

Ermias

Haile: let me shed even more light on the three interesting characters you mentioned. Allow me to start with queen sheba:

Saba – her biggest concern is that the opposition is set on course to seize power by any means necessary. If it so happens that they compromise the sovereignty of the country, then that is a fair way of eliminating PFDJ. As long as PFDJ is dismantled, what follows is immaterial to them. This is Saba’s take. I understand her concern but I don’t know why she is on this forum any longer. If she is trying to recruit people to her third way, she has miserably failed because she has no stated plan. To most Eritreans, there is PFDJ and then the rest of us. To Saba, there is PFDJ, the ‘cyber opposition, then the handful of third wayers. Her biggest sin is equating the opposition groups with PFDJ. At the very worst, the opposition groups are inept but they have no other crime against the Eritrean people whatsoever. Saba’s only success story is perhaps Hope, not hope the noun but Hope the character. Small dawit is too small to count.

Saba – I plead with you to name one opposition organization, a few members in it, their stated charter, when they were created and how many members they have. Don’t ask me the same question because my reply would be ‘I have no clue. I belong to none and I don’t know any one or organization.’ Thank you madam.

Hope – extreme hatred of Woyane in particlular and aversion of Ethiopians in general. As confused a person as I have ever seen. He is calling for national reconcilliation all in PFDJ’s terms. Basically asking everybody else to surrender and fight woyane like jigna IA.

P.S. by the way haile, I saw the video you posted yesterday. IA was at least coherent back then (wrong as ever) but you could hear what he was saying. Now it is unbearable. We can use IA’s diatribes for future torture techniques for the likes of Saba because she thinks the opposition is set to do the same thing PFDJ is doing.

Ali. S. – the perceived looming woyane based administration of Eritrea is fast becoming real in his mind. Land grabbers have been put aside for later attack but for now the real enemy is Woyane and the Addis based opposition groups. The U-Turn is a plea to PFDJ to please preserve the sovereignty of Eritrea. The U-Turn is towards PFDJ not away from PFDJ as he may want you to believe. He prescribed traditional medicine to the opposition – shinfa’E, mahgoma, etc. but as we all know traditional medicine like those only inflict more harm. tsaeda kelamintos, chena adam, lemin, entati’e, gele mele equa mihashe yikewn.

Hope

Welcome comeback–flip-flopper!
I encourage you to take over Eritrea after the PFDJ runs away from Eritrea.
I do NOT hate Woyanes or Ethiopians but their hateful business against Eritrea and Eritreans.But When enough is beyond enough—–
Why don’t you go back to Entoto and reclaim your Ethiopianship then rather than flip-flopping?
Having a concrete and clear and firm stand/”Third Way” is NOT confusion;more over,believing in National Reconcilitaion is NOT confusion;plus,my stand on the preconditions for a National Reconcilaition is crystal clear,not the way you want me to say it.Not PFDJ way but the right way,the National Way.Do you understand the term “National Reconciliation”?
If the South Africans and the Amahras/Oromos/Tigreyans(in the TPLF way–in its real sense),have made it ,why NOT us Eriteans?
The only problem we have is that we are NOT able to challenge the PFDJ the right way —-Other than Cyper Politics and Cyber Opposition and rhetoric,what have you done? It takes more than that.

Hope

Huh,my way is the High Way and “Since he is NOT with US,he should be with them”.”Either you are with us or with them” and if you are NOT with us, then we will—–kind of rhetoric.
Congra George Bush,Jr.
He is entiled to his right and to be what he wants to be and to think as such or otherwise as well.
This is Sports/Atheletics,which has NO boundaries and borders—-
Hailat,it looks like you have a new Office to represent New Eritrea and you should have invited him then—-
I am more than PROUD of him for expressing his Eritreanism/roots and for being an Amb of Eritrea and Eritreans.
It looks like you want to erase that SPIRIT and that Nation if things do NOT go your way.
Please re-read Semere Tesfay’s advice,albeit,you are going to refute it as it is NOT said your way.

haile

hope

mengedi t’ena Amet kido! I am telling you again, the goal keeper Girma Asmorom cought Meb in the UN corridors. Other than his few gestures of nicities, Meb is as good American as any other and hasn’t got any real attachment to Eritrea. You say “I am more than PROUD of him for expressing his Eritreanism/roots and for being an Amb of Eritrea and Eritreans.” I say get real and vist here

he has no connection with Eritrea to speak of (in public that is). His favorate runner is Haile Gebreselasie and not Zeresenay Tadesse (read his FAQ). It really worries us that HGDEF are so cheap, one can sign up without any background check…be an axe murdered, ex-land grabber:-) what ever, hgdef is desperate and this case of the American runner and hgdef wuTm’Tm tells it all. a challenge for you, go to the web link and find me anything Meb even so much mention Eritrea other than as a place of war, famine and drought that he run away from…hey sorry the clinic is closed, Saba’s special day 🙂

Hope

I beg to differ.I have met this same Meb in lots of Eritreans gatherings sponsored by the same PFDJ/GoE,the last one being,last year in San Diego.
Do NOT try to decide for him–as he has a right and capacity/competency to do so–for whatever reason.

Hope

Thank you dawit—I am just as digusted, and as confused as you are about this blind PFDJ hatred.
This is very worrisome to me.You remember the case and the position of the “Opposition ” during the ” border war” and even now?
I know they are trying to politicize it as usual but still i cannot comprehend this kind of politics……
It makes one to think twice about their motivation—-I do not think,in my opinion,that this emanates from real nationalism.Time will tell.

dine

he didn’t say Ethiopian, he said black.

Amanuel

Hi Awatista

It has been reported that Me has visited the permanent mission of Eritrean regime to the UN. I think it is ill advised move to try to reach young Eritreans through a regime they are running way from. Considering the human right issue of the regime, specially Girma Asmorom the person who deceived Aster Yohannes to go back to Eritrean where she was taken to unknown prison is bad for Meb brand as Eritrean American.

Good observation, Aman. I agree with you, on the other hand…..
One thing I always wonder about is if there is a distinction to be made between going after the tyrannical regime and its members on one hand, and respecting the offices they hold (such as those of the president’s, ministers’, ambassadors’…), on the other hand.
Because regardless of how or to whom they are serving currently, these offices are properties of and supposedly “represent” the interests of the Eritrean people. Or will be doing so in the future.
I didn’t think my comment is making much sense. Neither am I on the mood to go any further. May be another time….Peace!

Pappillon

Dear Rodab,

It boils down to integrity and principles. I was hoping Meb would rise to the occasion and make the world aware of the dictatorship in Eritrea but of course one wonder’s if he ever heard the sad story of Aster Yohannes among hundreds of others who are victims of apathy, vindictiveness and lack of compunction. And of course one would be curious enough to know what they talked about. I am sure, Girma Asmerom encouraged Meb to visit Eritrea more often for he is fond of saying that where Aster got lost in translation.

ሓፍትኻ

haile

Hey Rodab, Aman and Papillion,

I think Aman’s question has more dimensions to it. In terms of Roadb’s take, we need to recognize that the “offices” are actually political tools of repression. The picture taking ceremony was used to give a political message and the American runner has offered himself to be used like that for reasons known to him. In reality, that is indeed his choice. It would be monumentally unfair to stop Meb from doing what many other celebrities do. The right thing to do would be to directly seek clarification from him regarding his stand. Some people may not have deep knowledge of Eritrean politics and Meb might be so. Or he might be PFDJ supporter or may not even see himself involved either way and just paid respect to the people of Eritrea through the office as Rodab says. It is tough to ask people to take partisan approach if they don’t want to, but PFDJ is cheap and just needs pictures to spin it as it pleases. The best option is to raise the matter with Meb himself.

Regards

Pappillon

Dear Haile,

I don’t mean to be sarcastic but I wonder if Meb’s rep would have put it differently. It is a moral issue. I don’t think anybody would have the luxury of remaining neutral when the nation is in a dire strait where a rare camera snap shot captures where North Korea is a child’s play. This is not a melodrama, it is real. It is real to the extent that 300 plus people got lost in a merciless and violent sea as they saw no alternative to the brutal and inhuman life under Isaias the tyrant. Time as they say is a friend of no-one for it is the hidden factor.

ሓፍትኻ

Semere Andom

Hi Haile the Great

Meb has just become like the unhinged American Rodman. He is shaking hands with the devil in a literally screw you to all his peers who are torture victims of pfdj. He could have stayed away. Meb has choices like all of us and he is exercising that free choice freely, but he could have done the right thing and we all know the right thing to do at this juncture of our history as a nation and people. He may not know what goes on in Eritrea as you say, but any one celled brain human would do a cursory google search and would be equipped with some info to help him make smart decisions, but I would bet that he fully knows what goes on Eritrea like every pfdj supporter in the diaspora and he is freely exercising his free will and as we are.

As sis Pappilon says it boils down to basic integrity and I will add that Meb may be blessed with stronger muscles than brain cells to do what he did. The Eritrean people and the offices that pfdj claims to server through are two different entities that are well known for every camel, donkey and dog on our planet and I am sure his dalliances with the devil will come to haunt him. I am trying to heed Sal’s advice for all of us to avoid hyperbole when debating (how am I doing Sal?) 🙂
He may not be that stupid to be persuaded by Girma that the rocks, soil, dams and roads and mountains are doing well in Eritrea and next pfdj willl tackle the people’s problems: First land argument of pfdj He is conseting player in this standing tall on the shouders of many diaspora criminals.
But that has been the story of many Eritreans, Phd in journalism supporting DIA, math professors, who implore their white students to think freely to appreciate the beauty of mathematics from Fermat to Newton, but tell ypfdj members to follow pfjd blinding

Sem

Pappillon

Dear Semerile,

That is pretty funny. Asgede and Gideon–where the former teaches about unbiased reporting and the latter makes a living in logic. Again, it all boils down to integrity and principles.

ሓፍትኻ

Semere Andom

Papillon:
Exactly. I was referring to both.

haile

Hey Sem and Papillion,

Trust me guys, I did also experience the sense of pity at a man who could have lead but instead willfully resigned to follow those that delivered our innocent people like the proverbial lamb to the slaughter. But why am I saying that? Because the news was publicized by hgdef itself. The same hgdef that thwarted the process of repatriation of the Lampedusa victims while publicizing its so called “attempts” to facilitate their return, none did. But it was trying to collect money by saying that it was to foot the bill of this imaginary body transfers to Eritrea. It is the same hgdef that told the world nothing happened in Jan 21/13 and the same hgdef that didn’t tell parents the death of their children fighting along SPLA until after the border war conclude and were included there. The many warsay that perished in sea accident while being transported from Massawa to Assab was also included in that number long after the occasion. The same hgdef media told us (grinning ear to ear) that Meb has wished health to IA. Hgdef is provocative, hgdef would like to incur political cost on the opposition by misconstruing the issue to be that of not wanting a good news about Eritrea. I think we have seen far too much tragedies and ups and downs to leave things to cool off before reacting. Reacting might be what is needed here. The actions of Meb will be judged for what they are and under the current circumstances. What we know is that a picture of Meb with Girma Asmerom was circulated by hgdef media. What hgdef scribbles next to the picture is anybody’s guess and so are the political incentives for hgdef to do so.

A food for thought: Wedi Tkabo recounted that he protested the wisdom of playing an all night dance in Atlanta on Oct 4 2013 while over 300 Eritrean corps was still trapped under the capsized boat in the sea bed. They refused to cancel the show and he went along and played. HGDEF probably reported it as an act of “patriotic zeal”. We could have said the same about wedi Tkabo because we wouldn’t have known. Come Boston, he refused to do the same blunder again and that was a game changer. This is why I think it is best to take this case with caution too. If Meb says he is YPFDJ or OPFDJ and doesn’t give a hoot, that would be left to history and people would move on. But We must hear from the horse’s mouth. And if the horse’s turns on its people or stays silent, well people can form their own opinion.

Regards

Pappillon

Dear Haile,

I do agree with you. We don’t know much and as you have aptly put it, let’s wait and hear it from him if he is willing to “open up” about his dallies with the ሓሳዊ and ለኽባጥ (read: Zeygrum Asmerom). I say, the comparison between Wedi Tkabo and Meb is limited for the very fact that when the former’s audience is confined to the Eritrean diaspora community, the latter enjoys tremendous exposure and coverage by mega media outlets as well. As such, he could have capitalized by bringing the sad state of the Eritrean people under Isaias the tyrant to the attention of the world.

I don’t think Meb has an identity issue that could put him under the tutelage of Yemane Gebreab when the rest of YPFDJ are lost and found in indoctrination. If he has given us a morale boost when he shined on a miles long track, we are hoping that the picture is a PR stunt on PFDJ’s end nothing more nothing less.

Hope

Make sure NOT to mix Poiltics with Sports,which has no borders and sides.
He is simply respecting his Country of Origin as she has RESPECTED him.

haile

…also a tiny bit addition…I don’t think Meb identify himself with Eritrea much (if any at all). If you check him on social media, he doesn’t have one single issue posted to do wit Eritrea (even his UN detour to Girma’s). Remember when Girma took picture with the Ethiopian FM. Girma is a very qeTafi of a human bing by the way. Don’t get worked up brothers and sisters.

Saba

Haile the great, i want to unleash your greatness restricted by pfdj syndrome which is manifested by what you are doing to Meb. Right now if you do a poll in diaspora to choose between pfdj and any combination of the parties/movements of the cyber opposition, the clear winner will be pfdj because there is other alternative.
Koleka kebid iyu, itan and shinfaE zey fiwiso:)

haile

hello Saba

” what you doing to Mab”? What can I do to Meb? I am only responding to fellow Eritreans discussing as regards to Meb and how it might relate to our issue wit my principal concern in politics, REGIME CHANGE AGAINST PFDJ. As far as the man Meb is concerned, I would be totally honest with you, I respect him as a talented American, I am not sure if he is connected to his Eritrean roots that much to warrant me to say more. It would amount to talking to someone that isn’t there really. Don’t believe the PFDJ trickster, the guy is just as much Eritrean as Obama is Kenyan. That’s all. As to your polls, well…hmmm emo jay endo 🙂 Who is stopping PFDJ from holding elections?

Saba

Haile the GR8,

Lets see what you did:
1. You do not know him if he is connected or not to his roots.
2. You do not know why he was seen close to PFDJers, may be that could be the only thing he can do to support his country. If there was a credible opposition parties he might have done otherwise. The majority of eritreans will choose pfdj for the same reason
So talking half-truth is tantamount to lie in our people.
Even if pfdj can win easily, they have no reason to hold election since there is NO alternative party to force them to change the system
What does this, my post, sound to you? Pfdj propaganda? Just be honest.
Hailuwa, rahak kabzom siber opposishion 🙂

Saba

haile

Saba, (gdefi eba shifa’E aytwed’Eley:)

“I think”, “I presume”, “I assume”… are supposed to be opinion designation, and we know it is only in PFDJ world that an opinion is enough to have your citizenship revoked. I don’t know why he did what he did or what other things that he does which I don’t know. Based on question asked, an opinion piece is forwarded, why did that trigger your wrath? It looks like you’re not busy at the clinic, what happen to hope? is he on community parole? 🙂

Saba

Haile the G,
Please read this one, it is from a cyber opposition member:
Breaking news: i THINK the cyber opposition is the ruling party as of today. I PRESUME, In their briefings, they said that they wanted to keep their name[CO] so that they can blame pfdj if they fail in their policy.
You can say this but is it worth saying it?
PFDJ will not allow you to say anything out of their control, do not doubt it.
In a serious note, i am amazed by your collection of that old photo with Dr. Desbele and others.
See you in the clinic at the usual time:)

ghezaehagos

Haftina/hawna,

“Even if pfdj can win easily, they have no reason to hold election since there is NO alternative party to force them to change the system.”

They have every reason to hold an election because parties/ fronts should hold election to govern people. …you should know we are talking times later after magna-carta….and the immortal ‘qostli zeyenbernalu.’

Again, at least it is your daily duty to ask for election. 23 years after, independence, 17 years after the constitution is ratified. Really for your own sake.

And if you have any historical sense, 800 years after, feudal barons at least checked their king. Aren’t you a bit jealous…’kudus kiniee?!’

Can you check the Eritrean leader from abusing the absolute power he possesses?

But again.

What you should mean is, “Even if Isaias can put one, he has no reason to put a crown in his head; as there is NO alternative party to force him to show his crown.”

My dear, what we have an absolute despotism. Of course, he doesn’t need to show his crown always; no need to.

Ghezae Hagos.

Hope

Welcome back my Genius,
You could have added that the alternatives were gone some how.I think what she is trying to do and say is that,there is NO viable and alternative opposition for now—-and our job should be to create ONE–until then—DIA wey mot!!

ghezaehagos

‘Hope’

You chose ‘mot’ wey mot and you chose ‘hope’…If there is hope, there is…

That is an insult. It is not true at all. You’re obviously reflecting your infatuation with PFDJ. We are living in a time where “supporters” of the regime tune in to Assenna or Erena radio incognito for fear of retribution. The joke goes, Isaias was kidnapped and the ransom was fifty million dollars or else they set him on fire. And PFDJ lackeys went around to solicit money and kept asking people to donate money. As they were asking for money, a man who was pulling in said to them, I don’t have money but I can give you በንዚና to give it to the kidnappers.

Did he relapse again? I thought you have been rehabing him as of late?
If I may correct the topographical error on your last statement, per your your kind permission,her Majesty,and say:” because there is NO other alternative”.

Saba

Hi Hope, thank you for correcting that, you knew what i meant.
He has intractable pfdj syndrome so we put him on drug trial. But since we do know very well this drug, his behavior is unpredictable and sometimes he acts even like pfdj but from the opposite direction, from the siber opposishion:)

Hope

All are “Ketefit” but Haile the “G”.How in the world are you trying to implicate Amb Girma Asmerom for having a picture with the Ethiopian FM?
This is simple “Diplomatic Posturing”/PR Gimmick,as they call it.But,there might be one day for the Ethiopian FM to visit Eritrea officially and will have a pic with the Eritrean people.

haile

Aster Yohannes was what I had in mind. The pic with the Ethiopian FM and other things…please sirah hgdef zebele kulu including their breathing pattern (ok exaggerating) zeladeyena guday eyu….please please nab azelo aytmeles…

Hope

Do you in your right mind believe that Girma Asmerom had the honest answer from DIA?As SAAY said,Girma Asmerom might be living in fear as well.Do not tell me as to why he has not left the PFDJ despite that he has had ample opps to do so.The man is a real nationalist and he is one of the few that we might need to save for future Eritrea.

Pappillon

ኣታ ሓውና ቁሩብከ ሕፍር ኣይትብልን ዲኻ? Are you really rooting for the man who had promised Aster Yowhannes that she will be safe and sound upon her return to Eritrea to look after her children where she was taken away by men of darkness as her children were about to hug her with their desperate and open arms? Do you have any idea what her children might think if they happen to read your callous and insensitive comment? What is wrong with you?

hope

You see how you misperceive people and are quick to judgements and conclusions?.
You are missing my point that Girma Asmerom might have honestly told Mrs Aster that she will be safe.
Please see SAAY’s comment somewhere from yesterday while debating with Amanuel Hidrat,I believe where he precisley diagnosed DIA—-specially his unpredictability.

Pappillon

That is precisely my point. You can’t possibly see it even when you are getting screwed over again and again. When he was promising Aster that no harm will be in her way, he had already known Isaias the sadist for over forty years, that is, he had already known Isaias’ precarious and unpredictable personality. The same logic can be applied to Aster as well, that is, why did she opt to fly back to Asmara knowing Isaias’ psychotic and sadistic behaviour? Simply because, she is a mother. It is incredibly hard to stay out with out seeing her children given the dire circumstances they were in. She had to take the risk. The sad thing is, sychophants and rabid dogs like the man you are putting your hopes on to “salvage” Eritrea, instead of sympathizing with the love of a mother, he took advantage of a mother’s soft spot so that, she will be sent to darkness. The messenger is not the fall guy, he is the culprit.

Hope

Thanks Rodab for your reasonable and rational comment and opinion,but please,do NOT be afraid about your STAND and do NOT sway around–but stand FIRM.Meb is paying RESPECT to Eritrea and Eritreans,not to the current regime and lts leadership.
It should not be Rocket Science to undestand this.Is there any other spot or Office for Meb to go and to express his PRIDE of being an Ambassador of Eritrea?
Mind you, the report is generically saying that Meb visited the Permanent Mission of ERITREA to the UN.
I mean—-This is the ONLY problem I have with some self-appointed Activists , Politicians and Opposition Groups.
We have to be able to distinguish between Eritreanism and “isaiasim”

Can you deny Meb and his Brother their Eritrean origin because they visited Eritrean Mission at the UN. When Meb and his family left Eritrea, there was no Eritrean Mission at the UN. What is your litmus test to be Eritrean? Should he Condemn Eritrea and its leaders to have made Meb true Eritrean!. Hatred of one man has blinded the ‘cyber opposition’.
Any person who put a positive image about Eritrea has to be condemned? You wrote about Girma Asmerom deceiving Aster Yohannes to go back to Eritrean. If that fiction is true why did she need any permission to go back to her country, unless she was hiding something that we don’t know that required for her to get permission? One has to ask permission to visit a foreign country, not to your country. It does not make sense.

Ali-S

Emma,

When I first read the comment I though the rumour was about you for the missing “b”. Here I think you guys are taking it a little too far.

We were all very proud that some Eritrean won something and got Eritrea mentioned for something very positive. I can’t believe that the problem of the opposition actually isn’t that he won but that Eritreans were finally able to hear some good news associated to Eritrea.

Say being an Eritrean, Med decides to tell his American friends that he also has another homeland that he cares about. Where would he go? To a Starbucks Cafe or some abandoned church where the opposition meet? Why would he qualify his answer by saying I am an “Eritrean but …”?

It is a shame that we can only think of parasite diplomacy of hitchhiking on others efforts while doing nothing in tangible opposition. This isn’t only cheap but sick politics. Athletes, musicians and all Eritreans are not pawns in opposition or PFDJ board games. We are all free citizens and we are entitled to do as we wish. No one has the right to run another person’s life. But being the identical twins both Weyopposition and PFDJ would never get it.

My hope is that Med went to the embassy to pay his 2% and ask the embassy staff how he could help abort conspiracies against Eritrea. I am absolutely proud of him and of what he did.

Amanuel

Who is Med?

Ali-S

Funny! Same spelling disease but turned out to be better suited than Meb. I think he should call himself Med

Ermias

Ali S, I was waiting to see if you ask Amanuel ‘who is Me?’

Amanuel

I think Meb is nearer to Mebrahtom, his real name. Why do you pick Starbucks Cafe? If I was his advisor I would advice him to take his American friends to a nice Eritrean restaurant and invite them to Zgni Derho with Mies or encourage him to go to Eritrean and set up Asmara Marathon.
My sincere hope is that he would not come to regret it in a few years time, but if you press me i wouldn’t bet on it, defiantly he will regret it when the truth comes out for the whole worlds to see it.

Ermias

You are dead wrong on your last paragraph. Agelglot are working for 400 nakfa per month. Mebrahtom Keflezghi should give all his $150,000 prize money to the Embassy. Just 2% would be cheap and un-Eritrean. What is a fake picture with Girma worth? He needs to give all that money to his people. He is Eritrean and he is a property of Eritrea. He was not born in Asmara in vain. I am extremely disappointed he didn’t wave the Eritrean flag as he was running his 26.2 miles. His people are suffering at the hands of US sanctions and he is calling himself an American. This guy is the biggest scam there is. I am appalled. I hate to be Eritrean when I see people like this. Wedi afom mulu hiwetu awefiyula eza adi baal Meb kaa nezen 150K mwfay kissenu. ezin wedizin eko eyu n woyane moral zihibom zelo.
If you haven’t figured it out already, I am acting like Hope, Saba, and Ali-S.

ghezaehagos

Selam Younis,

Please pardon me if I had to copy-paste my message to Semere Tesfay. Loms tehawawiskumna!

Is it too much to ask Meb to simply point out the plight of the Eritrean people, the Eritrean prisoners, the Eritrean Pentecostals, the Eritrean journalists, the Eritrean elders, the Eritreans?

If these are too political for you, how about asking the USA and the West to come rescue Eritrean refugees from human traffickers, from high sea mega-tragedy, from concentration camps in some neighbouring countries? Is it too much to use his celebrity status to draw US and the West to RESETTLE more Eritreans from refugee camps?

Sidetegnatat tekebelu m’Bal entay Abesa alewo…!
Ghezae Hagos

Abudi

Let’s ride a locomotive to get us to what is best for Eritrea and Eritreans. And I suggest we better avoid a train!

AMAN

THE STATESMANS CHRONICLE
OF THE METHODICAL IMPLEMENT
OF THE GRAND PLAN :
( Eritrean American post intelligencer)
DECLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS
I think the trick didn’t go well and didn’t sell good as proposed.
Before the war it was already decided that who should have the upper hand (become a winner)
in the negotiatiating table and what type of help (cyber propaganda of smear and blackmail) should
be accorded for any administration who represents Ethiopia against Eritrea by US,UK and ISRAEL
in their war against Islam and communism and which wrongly thought or branded Eritrea as one.
So Issayas would be invited and flown to Israel by the US on how to start and conduct the war with
great secret without the knowledge of not only the public but even the top Generals and the cabinet
and if in case Eritrea as the winner not to accept the result untill Ethiopia gets an upper hand even it
takes years and hundreds of thousands of lives because the designed plan is drawn to benefit Ethiopia
against Eritrea and all its case just like the 1950’s UN response and conduct to deny and dissmiss its
grievances and legitimate cases out right.
So right after that is achieved a heavy cyber attack directed and instructed by our intelligence and
security agents to our global medias will take up the job of painting all the evill picture against Eritrea
to the world and will even fabricate cases out of the blue to frame it for diplomatic isolation and siege
and even attack by proxy by hiring the woyanes again and yemen or sudan or any other.
Because this independence and freedom Eritreans are displaying is only given by God to the white
race and people and not any African should behave like that and have it. So it should be put under
one of the us policies of against Islam and the black/African race and should be dealt accordingly.
So once Issayas is made to be defeated or caused the defeat of his Eritrean army according to our
plan it will be a good starting point to dismantle the achievement the Eritreans achieved in their nation
building process started from the 1970’s and will carefully and methodcally dismantle it piece by piece.
And Issayas will do great effort through the medias under his control to sell the defeat to the public
and will take it to protect their patriotism and national achievements under any condition or loose it
if they risk by challenging our man Issayas with the demands of democracy and rule of law once the
first phase of our plan is methodically implemented. So what they would rather do is MIENTI MOGOGO
TIHILE ANCHIWA and will be forced to do misgivings because of their nationalistic and patriotic feelings
and love of their nation. So that way he will be given chance to retrive his personal pride of the struggle
after selling the defeat we planned to the people who will most probably but it as stated above.

The fact that Issayas Afeworki and his PFDJ party pulled
from the shelf the CIA project after independence…
The fact that they brought it only after they got defeated
and defamed Eritrean peoples struggle…
and the fact that…………………………..(will continue)
is
IZA BIRKUTA EMNI ALATA…………….TERTIR !

haile

Selamat Awatista,

When we say the EPLF tegadelti had some kind of conception of social justice or a ideological train of thought to project their imaginations of nation building, it is way too naive. I’ll stick with the skunis leadership and heroic but polite followers definition. Please take less than five minutes on IA response to a demonstration by Tegadelti back on the days. In fact, demonstrating, strikes, walk-outs and what have you is a civilized way of expressing disagreement or calling for attention. Their motive to demonstrate was to seek better treatment in bread and butter issues of resettling them. Just listen to this bombastic reaction of National security, dishonoring the nation, inciting regional chaos, putting the survival of the nation at risk…one would think there was a MAJOR terrorist attack or something to get him ranting like that…well, an entire battle hardened tegadelty had no clue what they just did was a mere demonstration and they all ducked in and buried their heads in the sand fearing that they might have jeopardized the 99.999999% vote to independence!! How could they not disagreed and challenged the authorities then that it is the right way to express dissatisfaction by holding peaceful demonstration or walk-outs. And how could our tegadelti at that level of n’qhat be in any position to handle other complex nation building matters. One major disaster we have is that the regime uses ignorance as a control tool, hence it actively works to keep people ignorant…look at its supporters 🙂

As always impressive and very educational. Haile the Great, indeed!! No one understands an oppressive regime like you! You always are to the point, have a very clear standing and tell those losers what they don’t want to hear.

Saba

Selam Haile,
Thanks for the video. I guess you have all the PFDJ records, videos, pictures. I hope you do not have mine in those PFDJ records:)

Your post to Asmara and acceptance speech was passionate, sounds like one of the speeches of Elizabeth Warren. The problem is that you have intractable PFDJ SYNDROME. PFDJ syndrome is a set of signs and symptoms characterized by tunnel vision(politically you can see only PFDJ, the rest of the world does not exist, even the dictator style leaders of the opposition), stereotypic speech(you talk only about pfdj), primitive innate reflexes (if they ask you why there is no rain in Eritrea, your answer is pfdj hatyat:) For any question the answer is pfdj), does not offer solutions on how to remove pfdj but the CT scan shows normal:) Pfdj syndrome is similar to wube syndrome in its manifestation but due to a different cause. Wube syndrome= bizeben wube zitsememe wube endabele yibebir.
Treatment: rehab with or without ShinfaE:)

Semere Andom

ሳባ ሳቢና
ስቅ ክይብል ሓሪቀ
ወስ ካይብል ድሞክራሲያዊ ከይነ
ሳቡ ሳቢና
ዝአዘዝክዮ ፈውሲ: ናይ ጠንቓሎ
ቀልምኪ: ናይ ትካቦ
ዘለፋኽን: ዋዛኽን ላዛ አልቦ
እንታይ እሞ ክንብሎ
ዘይብልኪ ህደግ ለነ
Seriously though: Haile always stood for the dignity of the Eritrean people even when he put all the onus on the opposition and his laser focus on the border, we and specially me came hard on him, he stood his ground until the pfdj indignities became increasingly unbreable to his true nature and that post was amazing and at the request of awatistats it made it as an article and his speech was in poking fun on that, but the speech was proved wrong as Haile never looked back It was pessimistic

Sem

saay7

Hi Sem:

Cobert used to ask his guests: “George Bush: a great president or the greatest president?” When it comes to Haile the Gr8, the only question is: “Haile the Gr8: great awatista or the greatest awatista ever?” It should be mandatory requirement for all new awatistas to read all his posts: you can see it all: evolution of thought, arguing with facts and, great sense of humor, mastery of the Tigrinya language and of course, the occasional take down of opponents.

Speaking of humor, Ali Salim has the potential to be great. Did you read his ተርጉመለይ ክቃወሞ (“translate it for me so I can oppose it”)? That’s a classic. A few more of those Abu Ulwa and Haile the Gr8 might have a contender.

Semere, great poem…reminds me the old days of border tit for tat we had and you massacred us with occasional poetic push backs. Good one.

Selam Saba,

Some of the central arguments of YG vis-a-vis ghedli involves the lack of democratic culture in those times. I still don’t see how he would demand that when the nation had to pull everything to a war against far bigger opponent in every sense of the word. You like to democratize the struggle against dictatorship more than its current shape? huh! The problem in front of us is to force IA and his henchmen to accept rule of law. We need to do this with undivided attention, total focus and united sense of purpose. Those who wish to entertain mock parliament and party formations while our people are running for their lives need to stop their untimely and irresponsible endeavors. I have ideology, plans, and many other things which would be untimely to be occupied with now. Eritrea needs mass uprisings at home and in the diaspora to bring its dictatorial leader under the will of the people. Eritrea is full of intelligent, creative, imaginative and hard working people who can set all those things up. We don’t need to pretend they don’t exist. All you need is to re-direct your focus sharply on PFDJ, expose it, challenge it, educate your people about its crimes and so forth. When the dictatorial regime falls, all 6 million Eritreans are as responsible as each other to make their country work, they need your help to break their chains and unshackle them. It doesn’t look good to pontificate about democratic ideals and ideological frameworks while they are jumping off a rickety boat to certain death. If you are not interested to help them with that well, don’t distract them you’re entitled to all those democratic rights once they win the battle and restore their dignity. Just keep clear of their just cause to take on hgdef. geza zeyblka A’rat m’Edag Taqwa yeblun… 🙂 eza Shinfa’E mis E’Tan kerbe shus enabelki bun hizki m’zngaE entay yexegmeki 🙂

Amanuel

Hi Haile
It has been 21 years since and we are still discussing about the basic human rights. What Tegadelti did at that time was, use their rights and ask questions. May be the timing was not right, however it was provoked by him (IA). The main reason why they came out like that was a reaction to a video message sent by him. He was advised not sent it in a such manner, but he did it, as not listening to others advice is one of his weakness as a leader.

I was not senior enough to attend the Capitol meeting and was summoned to Denden ( Kanew) to listen to his message. It was full of arrogance (it was like, why do tegadelti want to go back to school or University, better teach them a Tractor). We (my self and my comrades) were very upset about the massage but more angry about the way and manner he spoke. Some called it “Rambo bull-sheet video” and other said “who does he think to treat us like this”. Most of us left the meeting out of frustration and continue the discussion at top 5 (a bar in Denden). From the discussion amongst tegadelti and the question asked at Asmara Stadium the problem can be summarised in to three
1) Bread and Butter issue
2) Demobilisation
3) The Front congress, corruption and incompetent leadership

On his video address, he gave a negative response to all three issues in a very arrogant and dismissive way. For example the bread and butter issue he said there is no money, for demobilisation he said some thing like “what are they going to do ? better teach them tractors”. For the overdue front congress he said there is no time and the current CC has extended its mandate to the next four years. However, when he was summoned to Asmara Stadium to face the music (I give him credit for showing up), his reply was opposite and agreed to take immediate action to address them. He said “I don’t want to lead a country you are not happy with”

The main reason i brought this all details is to remind people that the 1993 tegadelti adma (demonstration) is not only about bread and butter as many writers refers it. As much as it was about bread and butter it was also about the democratisation process of the country. Many Tegadelti were asking why is not the front having its congress? It is not possible to continue with a leadership not ready for civilian administration. Whose mandate is to appoint the CC for the next four years? For example, Lingo told him that it is up to the congress to extend the CC mandate. So we need to have a congress of the front immediately.

haile

Selam Tegadalay Amanuel,

Let me first apologize for omitting those additional aspects as you described. Trust me, it was all down to ignorance, I wasn’t there. From information that I got about it at the time, you make good sense. For example, I heard that one of the issues raised was to do with the sudden announcement of IA as president of the PGE through the Voice of the Broad Masses (dmtsi HafaSh). So, I was some what suspicious of the reason covered on the media. Mind you, we were never as cynical as today then, so we believed what was told to us. Our tegadelti were to be admired for the dexterity to set themselves up and many were getting enrolled in the UoA extension programs to get higher qualifications. I still have tegadelti friends in their about 50’s (relatively young) starting all over again by working in places like Juba and Uganda. The problem is that they always struck me as very trusting of a leadership that they have gone through thin and thick with. For us, the civilians, it took us around 10 years of hellish roller coaster to get a good idea of this wako guy, but how not so to the tegadalay – whome we trusted to spearhead the complex nation building. Trust me Amanuel, tegadalay’s service to the nation is historic and will transcend generations. However, political niq’hat wasn’t there. I wouldn’t say cowardice, because tegadelti are not really cowards at all. Many years ago I use to argue with my friends that IA will never be able to lord it over tegadelti because they wouldn’t hesitate to confront him. I had a tegadalay friend (who was Colonel in the 90s and I remember him telling us abzi’a krishnekum ey’e for annoying him with minor things). So, my take is that the tegadelti must have been tricked, given false promise and then put in difficult situations to compromise them one way or another. This is probably why IA managed to divide them and deploy them against each other. Of course, all this is ab kunat zeywe’ale belih from me. So take it as general assumptions than hard headed assertions.

Thanks for your clarifications again.

Regards

Amanuel

Thanks for the Kind words Haile and to be frank apology is not necessary. I don’t want to get in deep in to a subject i know very little, however human nature is very complex and impossible to predict. As you have said that Tegadelti paid dearly to librate the country, but to hear 20 years later the same people are involved in human trafficking and throwing out martyr families from their houses is beyond me. At last I want to leave you with a quote by Tegadalit “don’t put your judjument on man kind before burying him/ her”

T. Kifle

Selamat haile,

The problem with the tegadelti, as to me , is not “Zeymniqah” but extra “niqhat” which goes like every burden they carry individually was for the betterment and independence of their country. Even if they face problems at their personal level, they usually invoke the cardinal goal of the struggle, “Tiwgah’mo”, and disciplined themselves to remain calm and submissive in the face of extreme adversities. And naturally, armed struggles rarely succeed if they lack this inherent attribute of “dictatorship” from the leadership and extraordinary discipline from the grass-root fighters. What has transpired after independence, is beyond their reach. They are systematically incapacitated and left to fend for themselves in the open wilderness of meeting the ends of their living in a strange environment.

If you dig a little and try to see the EPLF’s mode of engagement during the armed struggle you would find the same traits or method of doing business albeit in smaller scale than are doing it now and obviously a hush hush to the rest of world. The fighters rarely had “rights” to speak of. The people were taken for granted and their existence were left at the mercy of the movement. EPLF had devastated towns and villages with the mere excuse of “collateral damage” of the battles. No one will tell you the thousands of people perished in Massawa due to the insensitive nature of the leadership. They had a convenient excuse: Dergue or HS. But EPLF did at least no less atrocities than those governments and not because they left out of choice. No one will tell you female tegadelties had no right to say no to sexual abuses at the level of “Merihnet Ganta” and all above that. A tegadaly would submissively be beaten and chastised by his corporal. The tegadelties as such were tools. And as tools it is likely to be thrown away whenever they are not needed and/or the moment they start questioning the leadership.
እዋይ ዘመን እዋይ ዘመንየ
ዘዕበኹዎ ድሙ’ዶ የምጺኡለይ ተመንየ

May explain the problem we see in Eritrea today with all its extra-border-effect. Any ways I got the theme of your message. Some of the things we see today are beyond the contemplation of sound conscience.

haile

Hey T Kifle

You sounded you’ve been reading YG before commenting. What is all that sexual abuse stuff? Many tegadelti women have been noticed to recount their ghedli time affectionately and the complaints about sexual abuse doesn’t resonate with innate Eritrean tradition. But here is a quickfire question: since you say “And naturally, armed struggles rarely succeed if they lack this inherent attribute of “dictatorship” from the leadership and extraordinary discipline from the grass-root fighters”, can it be assumed that the TPLF had similar problems too?

NB: I am of the school of thought that EPLF isn’t the same as PFDJ. The current hgdef pretension to appear EPLF is the same as Girma qeTafi taking picture with Meb the great 🙂

T. Kifle

Haile,

I don’t need to read YG’s writings to say whatever I say about EPLF. YG is a late comer as far as his take on EPLF’s is concerned. whatever I said is what I know first-hand. And it’s true. Yes, many women are reminiscent of the time. And yes, many women have been the victim of their “womanhood” but they chosen to keep mums about it as the many other problems considered as taboos to talk about. my intention is to indicate that the Eritrean field had witnessed untold miseries to all involved in it and what we see today is up scaled implementation of old projects and nothing in fact is new and as such surprising. For me PFDJ and EPLF are one and the same: the only deference lies as in being freedom fighter and a government and all the actions of the former were “justified” as measured with a yardstick of the bigger outcome while that very card lost its currency when they set foot in Asmara.

As far as TPLF is concerned, the answer is yes. The difference is this. It doesn’t abuse its fighters. The battles were executed with at most care to minimize damage to the people around including sacrificing many tegadelties to save a single hat of a farmer. It resolved internal differences with dialogue. One could raise a concern over any issue without any consequences. You can take me as an example. I write in my name and am a fair critic of the TPLF leadership of today( not at Awate.com but appropriate Ethiopian platform). TPLF has many shortcomings when it comes to governance but same time have developed the gut to listen to grievances of citizens. But still far from being a democratic entity.

Hope

Please do NOT insult Intelligence.Your own TPLF members might challenge you on that besides the written history.Let us leave aside these old styled “us and them” rhetoric.
As far as real battles are concerned,you know better than most of us that the decisive major battles like that of Shire,Gondar,etc—until the gates of Addis–were run with the help fo the EPLF Mechanized Brigades and advisors.
Who was your witness ,BTW,about raping the EPLF female fighters?This reminded me about similar allegations made by this same website we are debating in,about SAWA being the RAPE Center in Eritrea—and I felt disgusted when the same website is being used by the sworn enemies of Eritrea insulting our struggle and our heros and heroines.What a shame to this website and the AT to allow this nonsense here.
BTW,thank you Hailat.

Abrham

Hope
“As far as real battles are concerned,you know better than most of us
that the decisive major battles like that of Shire,Gondar,etc—until
the gates of Addis–were run with the help fo the EPLF Mechanized
Brigades and advisors”

We from the south have heard it so many times!!! EPLF is the advisor, instructor,doctor, operator bla bla… from your serving the truth Eritv & likes so many times. Its deception and boring. The issue is a matter of supporting each other not to the level of advisory. The same support was rendered to your side. Ask any genuine vet tegadelti before coming here with PFDJ type of propaganda. You know, based on EPLF culture not only TPLF but also many Tigreans can predict what will happen to Eritrea that you and I are witnessing now. Do not inflate your EPLF It was the most organized in Sahel but simply withers away when assimilation comes with Hafash. What type of organization is it?

haile

Selamat T Kifle,

You see T (for tegadalay?:) Kifle, you may beat me with
experience in what transpired during the struggle. Under normal circumstances,
such issues can be investigated and ascertained for their own sake as part and
parcel of history. In my philosophy (I outlined this some years back, you
probably didn’t have had the chance to have read it) I believe that the history
of EPLF (and of course ELF and all others of the struggle era) is a major
aspect of Eritrean history. It is intertwined with the fabric of our society in
a very complex manner. To the average Jo (not Jo the commenter – he may well be
above average) in Eritrea there are much more things that link them to the
struggle at a personal level, we can’t say the same about PFDJ. EPLF is pretty
much a source (justified or unjustified) pride to majority of Eritreans,
whereas PFDJ is a source of shame, loss, tragedy and indignities to the
Eritrean people. There is a school of thought in Eritrea (strong one) that
asserts that IA and co. have hijacked to ideals of the struggle. Until 1997/8
Eritreans had fair appreciation of EPLF’s attempt to deliver on the widely held
aspiration of the Eritrean people. Tremendous number of EPLF leaders were
killed, arrested and brutalized while the Eritrean people watched and fled in horror
abandoning/emptying the country and the country was turned a playground to all
types of transnational crime syndicates. IA led our nation to hell. I have hard
time to accept that this was EPLF and how EPLF envisaged Eritrea and its
future. We had to deal with IA much much earlier (gud serihuna, weyzi ebud
kelbi). In any case, as I stated above,
in normal times, history is there to be investigated, but we are not in normal
times and it is best to hold off for now. Lest, the Eritrean people may be
confused even more (wink wink, borrowing notes from hope’s wikileaks documents
if you know what I mean).

Regards

Hope

“NB: I am of the school of thought that EPLF isn’t the same as PFDJ”—and to the face of the TPLF of TPLFites!!.
Ahhh,now I kind of started liking you…
Hope

Saba

Hope,
May be this time he is on chena adam OTC:) We will see if it will have long term effect.

Semere Tesfai

T. Kifle:

I know you are smart guy, but let me give you an advice if I may. In life, there are things you can safely criticize and there are others you should never, never, never even try. Let me give you example of things you shouldn’t even try. Criticizing someone’s faith, someones race, someones history…..

By criticizing Eritrean Ghedli’s internal business, I don’t think you are helping the Eritrean opposition; yourself or your country. So please leave Eritrean experience for Eritreans.

T. Kifle

Hi Semere

I already did. My comments have to mean to defend my country as your problems are always presented here marinated with concoctions and creating a bugaboo instead of standing on their own merit. Stop blaming my country for predicament are in and you will see me nowhere except for my sporadic visit to learn something from the great minds at Awate.

Hope

Thank you Mr. T Kifle for the U-turn,and I hope it is a “legal” one.
Thank you Hailat—another SAAY!
No confusion here though.I am with the right flow and with the Truth.
That is what we need—Forget and forgive!!!Regional Reconciliation and Integration, with MUTUAL RESPECT though!!

Kokhob Selam

poor me, my place don’t allow any U-turn Lol, N’kHID,

Ali-S

Hey Sem,

Somewhat unfair but I love the fact that you are repeatedly trying to come in with something totally different from what all of us are doing. You and Dawit (the cartoonist) are doing a great service to our debate and we should pay you to do it full-time. Since my comment here is on what you wrote, I am confident that through time and trial and error it will be classic comedy.

The value of what you said as is the case with what any article says should be judged as one piece because each line taken apart is out of context. Hence, I think your concerns are well placed. You pointed to a contradiction between the land-grabber debate and the Third Way debate. You answered it by mentioning the U-Turn enough times. You pointed to a convergence with Semere Tesfai and I think that was your way of saying we were at least two Eritreans who would ever converge through dialogue and debate. Why enter a debate if you are not open to change. You hope you will convince people but it is only fair to leave the door open for you to change by listening and interacting with people.

It even makes more sense where you place this example of convergence in the context of opposition debaters who would never change whatever arguments you push to them: tsemam Hade derfu kind. Pick any sample of our activists and you will see a 100% consistency and identity in form and substance in everything they have said or written in a decade. No one has ever convinced anyone or been convinced by anyone because many of them are the “tergumeley kiQawemo” type.

This is of course not my idea but Saba had said it in one post where she pictured talking to a tree. You see Sem – a few more of these comics and you are on a U-Turn because it is a sign of starting to use the mind (:-)

I love you very brilliant sarcasm and your ability to laugh in our dry politics. Please make it you business to hook us here for something different and lively.

Yodita

Mr. Ali S.

With all due respect, while you crave for “….for something different and lively”, some dramatic tragedy continues to take place in our society. Among other things, the Eritrean youth (some in their early teens), are roaming the
streets of southern Europe looking for containers as transport to better northern European countries, to get there hopefully alive! How bad can it get?

It is indeed just and legitimate (and even creative) to be critical of opposition debaters and activists. However, when you claim:

“…the context of opposition debaters who would never change whatever arguments you push to them …”.

You do not even qualify this remark by the word ‘some or even many’, meaning that it
is all the opposition debaters from A-Z! In my humble view, this is a gross generalization and unscholarly. Here appears an absolute lack of weighing the positive and negative aspects of a phenomenon in
order to ascribe to it a factual and scientific assessment: to attribute a 100% consistency and identity is outright blind! (Unthinking, I might add)

“…any sample of our activists and you will see a 100% consistency and identity in form and substance in everything they have said or written in a decade. No one has ever convinced anyone or been convinced
by anyone because many of them are the “tergumeley kiQawemo” type.”

If you were (unrealistically) expecting a regime change through the sole efforts of opposition debaters and activists in the Diaspora, your above flattening assertions (or ideas as you call them) could have meaning. But if one fails to see how much more awareness these opposition debaters and activists have been able to germinate and fruit, how much it has contributed for people to come out with real identity (and even pics) and lead towards emancipation from fear and hiding (unlike you and me), not to mention the HOPE some debaters diffuse in making it clear that it is dark but it is not eternal. The number of protests, seminars, pal-talks, have and are taking place, without
fear of PFDJ’s harsh punishment are clear indications that a stagnant and a seemingly impossible reality did finally crack in the Diaspora. Needless to say, PFDJ is negatively impacted and weakened (2%) by these debaters and activists whom you, Saba (among others) and the whole PFDJ gang disdain.

To negate the outstanding role of activists like Elsa Chirum, Selam Kidane, Meron Estifanos, Sister Azzezet, Dr. Alganesh, and debaters like Hayat Adem, Pappillon (just to mention only some of the female kind) is not myopic, but blind!

Singlehandedly, men and women moved impossible situations by their untiring and relentless actions and achieved what they set out to do and even beyond. I am being harsh, but persons of your caliber and fame in Awate.com are
satisfied with derision and settling for “….for something different and lively”. A big loss for the hard-earned momentum.

Amanuel

Hi Ali S
I think it is a fair representation of your behaviour (writings) with sense of humour. I agree, that there is no point going to debate if you are not ready to be convinced by veritable facts and arguments, however as activities (politician) you should have a line you should never cross, specially involving human rights and rule of law. What i am trying to say is that go back to the drawing board and find out what you stand for; and once you finished your home work join your likes and try to bring people to you side. Other wise no body will take you seriously enough. By your admission you have been to almost all Eritrean opposition in a very short period of time and this shows a lot about your political conviction and state of mind.
Have a nice day.

House of Stark

Hi Ali S.

I’m sure you are serving this delicious gourmet with an Arbor wine?

haile

Hey Semere Andom,

Nice one. It reminds me the stair that you put for my acceptance speech of “the great” after my ambush of the fella by the nick “asmara” (or focus, or guet or guest or many many things…). That was cool speech you crafted for me and the same here. The AT have a Mediterranean spices I think, not the korerima and others you get in home 🙂

Saba

Haile the G, i missed your acceptance speech of the”Great”:) Speaking of traditional stuff, have you tried “SHINFAE” for your cyber opposition? I do not believe in”fewsey fewsi asha” but you might try it, worst case scenario, it might convert them to real opposition:)

Ali-S

Saba & Haile,

I also missed the speech and would love to read it. I used to see Haile very different from what I have come to see him these days. The part I like about you Haile is that you never give up and unlike many other, one can see in what you write the fact that you actually read what was written. There is some dialogue in arguing with you and it is fun and adds to the exchange. As Saba has hinted, pending on reading the original speech the “great” might also get the Seal of the Third Way but with a small “g” (:-)

Where you become difficult Haile is where you are coming to convince people without entertaining the possibility that you might be convinced if things start making sense. If something do make sense and I know most of what we say make perfect sense to you because you are a good man, lock the pride away and get along or use what we say to improve your argument and add value to our debate.

Thanks for the link to the really great speech. However, the speech gives only one side of the coin. We and everyone in the “if clauses” know all these by heart. What we do not know for certainty is “why”.

The guesses we have have two components: (1) the PFDJ’s mismanagement and dumb policies; (2) external factors of national security concern imposed on Eritrea.

Therefore, the we will be withholding the title until further clarification from Haile, unless you have a different opinion. As it is, it is a case of “almost great” (:-)

Pappillon

Dear Ali Salim,

I beg you, in fact I implore you to tell me what the “external factors of national security concern imposted on Eritrea” are. I ain’t kidding you. I really want to know. If anything here is how the “Bible” of Psychiatry defines delusion:

Thanks for the question. The answer is: Weyane, CIA and hasusat. We listen to our President as you now and Papagalo! (help spelling plz)

Pappillon

Dear Ali Salim,

You’re not only bright but you’re funny as well. Glad to see that for you’re too young to take yourself too serious. Oh yea trust me I am older than you. Anyway, I wouldn’t confuse your comment with a “waving a white flag” for that will make me delusional ዘይተጻሕፈ ተንብብ sort of thing.

Yodita

Dear Pappillon,

Just curious, how do you know Ali S is younger than you? I had him figured out (wrongly I guess) for a rather elderly gntleman. He sounds ‘navigated’ as they say. If he is all that young, perhaps he should be forgiven for SOME of his flatteningly judgemental statements. I made a harsh longish comment on one of his comments that briefly appeared and then disappeared, earlier today. If he is all that young, may be he should not be admonished.

Moderator: If the above is the reason for withdrawing my comment, I partially agree.

Pappillon

Dearest Yodita,

I sure don’t know him from Adam so to speak but I was able to infer from his quasi-autobiography in one of his articles that he was in Sawa (ታሽዓይ ዙር). Moreover, he graduated from college in the late 90s. That I say makes him younger than I am but of course unless otherwise he started school later on in his life.

ሓፍትኺ

haile

Selamat Saba Ali-S and Semere A

Thank you Sem, I was just to fetch that for Saba and Ali-S, you beat me to it…anta nArg alona gdi…:-)

As to my withholding my title, hmmm…well do you know that it is the most embattled of titled in AT land. Especially, our hgdef brothers took it to all kinds of evaluations and re-evaluations even for minor infractions as not closing all my comments with “PS: Woyano you leave those lands NOW”. Anyhow, ze’ElebeTu ente’Elebetu, the main accrediting body, saay of AT, kept snatching it of off them handing it back to me. So, if you think you can interfere with Awate unversity’s pilot scheme of accrediting people and still hang around here…woa I said be warned 🙂

The external issues are always external. Your internal consistency or fallacy would determine the type of balance you would achieve externally at any given moment. Remember, it is wrong headed to try to attain external control, it is rather external balance that you look for. If you have self weakening policies internally, what form of external balance would you be attaining? As we speak, we have:

1 – We have a financial system that has completely overtaken by 4x higher informal exchanges and an official exchange frozen for over 16 years now

2 – We have an education system that has attempted and failed to get any external recognition

3 – A health system that has finally given up and people are going to the Sudan to seek treatment in large numbers

4 – An Airliner that can’t attract external carriers and banned from flying in European airspace for safety reasons

5 – A defense forces that can’t legally procure armaments

6 – A diplomatic arm that can’t even secure basic allegiances that can support us in bad times or even attain regional block membership..

7- A political space that would not tolerate the slightest of differences in opinion

Now, the external reasons card has some currency in the diaspora that bases its judgement on an orchestrated and heavily distorted information which they are not in a position to assess through daily experiences. In Eritrea NOBODY buy that. When I asked someone in Eritrea in 2009 that if he was worried in about the sanctions to be imposed then, he immediately dismissed it by saying that Sanction was a permanent fixture of their life under the regime and nothing would change. Here is the basic moral bankruptcy: when a NORMAL people have a population with 80% living in subsistence farming and high illiteracy rates, they see it as a huge challenge to try to resolve. Unfortunately, in the regime we have, it saw it as an advantageous edge or a handicap to be taken advantage of. Such an immoral position has left us with a regime that has left the nation barren and in a worse situation that when it got it from the Dergue (we can argue point by point about this Eritreans on the whole had more and better rights under the dergue) and has nothing more to show other than word games.

Peace

hope

Sem and Emma,
And you are who and for what,other than arguing for the sake of arguing;attacking personas for the sake of doing so?
Get it real, people.
Forward constructive criticism and solutions—Ali and Semere Tesfay–boldly stood firm on their stand and their vision.What about you?Just living in dreams,wishes,gossip??-Wake up dudes.Be constructive rather than belittling and attacking peoples’ persona and suggestions,which is the worst sign of insecurity and lack of confidence.
Debate and dialog should be constructive,a-two-communication,for a purpose ,NOT for the sake of arguement and halewlew.
Semere Tesfay and Ali Salim, forwarded clearly a strategy and a proposal—-the way they believe is right and good for Eritrea and our homework should be to challenge their strategy and proposal and come up with a better and constructive ONE.
No need of attacking who they are and their background—-their right to express their opinion.

Saba

Selam Hope,
Semere and Ali salim have exposed the dictatorship and emptiness proposed by the cyber oppositions . What do you expect from proponents of dictatorship? Vicious attacks and litmus tests.

Saba

Is this a PURE satire or a satire plus personal attack to Ali salim? I think the appropriate title should be “A critic to Ali Salim U turn”. I think we should encourage people to express their opinion, instead of attacking them.

Saba

lol, “semiruley tesfai”. “semiruley Andom” that was nice kibitirot:)

Semere Andom

Hi dawit:
Ali Salim made his U-turns in canada.

Guest

If we have to guess, yours was in Woyane land, right? with your sharpa and all?

Amanuel

Semere Andom
Just brilliant

dawit

Just for fun, what is legal U-turn and illegal U-turn? I think it depends where you live. If you live in a society where they drive on the left, you make right U-turn and if you drive on the right you make a left U-turn. Ali S, is saying to all Eritreans who are driving to the wrong direction, left or right and he want you to make a legal U-turn left or right and drive on PFDJ built Eritrean Freeway. .

Amanuel Hidrat

Semere Andom,

An impressive Satire that opens the clouds of U-turn, one to see as it keeps turning and turning. From your Satire I read two story telling, off course real story. One that occur in front of our eyes and the other from a biblical or historical account. Here are the two shining story, albeit that goes to the ledger book of negative human history.

(A) “I found a soul-mate in the person of Semere Tesfay. The irony is that he was created after me, by me and from me.” Semere came in this website as a reaction to “Ali Salim” to reflect the two opposite end of our political discourse. So your account on Semere is right on the history book.

(B) humans were created to till the land on behalf of their gods and masters, after their death, they return to their gods.” These story also reflect the “modern slavery” and the “DemiGod” in the nation we all love.